


Black Days x And x Sky Grey

by Sutoresu



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst, Feelings, M/M, Post World Tree, Sad Gon, alluka is a supportive little sister, but nothing feels the same, coming together again, gon and killua reunite on whale island, guilty killua, they learn to be better together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2020-09-25 05:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20371363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sutoresu/pseuds/Sutoresu
Summary: After the World Tree, Killua often found himself plagued with memories of adventuring with Gon. But, no matter how happy he remembered he was, it always ended with him seeing the boy losing himself in rage and stabbing him in his heart with hurtful words. So, he decided he wouldn't think about it anymore.He didn't think about the bad things that could come with it.





	1. Chapter 1

After they parted at the World Tree, Killua felt like he was unable to properly function. He had successfully gotten his sister out of their hell of a household and now they were traveling together. It was supposed to feel amazing. And it did, but only to an extent. There was always a weight pushing in on his chest whenever he was supposed to be relaxing with Alluka on one of their vacations or supposed to be laughing at something funny they saw. There was always something missing and it didn't take him long at all to figure it out.

Gon. 

The black-haired boy had quickly become his world after he single-handedly saved it without even trying. Killua admittedly felt lost with him suddenly not being around anymore. It wasn't on to the next adventure like it had been for the last couple of months, but he was instead planning a temporary stay in a random town so Alluka could stay in one place for a while. The pain he was feeling from his separation was flaring wildly in the beginning, never letting him rest too easy. Even Alluka got concerned with seeing him so distraught during the night when he thought she was sleeping.

But, it didn't last.

Eventually, he had grown to become used to it just being him and his sister. He realized he had been taking their time together for granted. They'd finally escaped. Sure, they still had to worry about their family from time to time, but they were together. He'd gotten her out. He'd accomplished one of his longest-running goals. He should be enjoying himself. So, that's what he set his eyes on doing. No more Gon. No more staying up late wondering what he might be doing or missing out on an experience with his sister because he was in his head too much. And that's exactly what he did.

Sure, there were some hard times where it seemed like he could only remember the past. But, for the most part, he began to grow happier in his situation, visibly brightening up more. Alluka surely took notice in his change of behavior once it had become obvious enough to her. One day, they were sitting in a bakery, a little treat Killua thought would be good for them to have. While she couldn't compare to Killua, Alluka had a great sweet tooth of her own. They were digging into various sweets neither of them had before, thoroughly enjoying themselves. Alluka, however, had plans to pop the question she had been dwelling on for a while.

"Brother, I have a question." Alluka started. Killua stopped to look at her, in the middle of eating one of the sweets. He downed it the rest of the way before giving her his attention casually.

"Sure, shoot." He replied, grabbing another sweet and munching on it as he awaited her question.

"Why did you seem so sad some time ago? You were never truly here and you never told me why." She had a feeling she had already known the answer but wanted to test him. Killua choked on what he was eating, hitting his chest a couple of times before swallowing properly.

"What- Where is this coming from?!" He asked, catching his breath. Alluka wore an unimpressed expression.

"You can't hide things from me, Brother. I know you too well." She shook her head with a sigh. "I know I haven't asked in a long time, but now that it's obviously not affecting you as much, I want to know."

"It doesn't matter." Killua shrugged nonchalantly, trying to brush the subject off with continuing to eat. Before he could get it into his mouth, Alluka snatched it herself and quickly ate it. "Hey!"

"No more eating sweets and brushing me off." She scolded with a huff. "I want you to talk to me. You're my big brother and you always watch over me. So, let me help you out right now." He visibly softened at this, seemingly taking a moment to think it over. His eyes unfocused for a moment as he got lost in thought. Alluka gave a small gulp but remained strong in her determination to help him talk about it.

"It's nothing, really," Killua said. He held up a finger to let his sister know he wasn't finished before she started scolding him. "But, it's just...I guess I was just feeling a little at a loss without having him around."

"Gon, right?" She asked, rolling her eyes at his surprised expression. "You seriously didn't think it wasn't obvious how much you adored him? Come on, don't insult me."

"Well," Killua sputtered a little, being caught off guard before regaining his composure with a shrug. "Anyway, I was just dwelling on the past. But, I realized that's not the way to go. I should be enjoying my time with my little sister despite the circumstances." He ruffled her hair, causing her to give a little giggle before smacking his hand away and fixing her hair.

"Well, it's good that you're doing better. Thank you for telling me." She said, giving him a bright smile. It was a smile that always made him feel better.

"Yeah, don't mention it." He said with indifference, but Alluka could tell there was affection behind it. He took another sweet and popped it into his mouth.

"So, what has Gon been up to these days? Is he doing alright? Didn't he go back to Whale Island after he saw his dad?" Alluka asked, remembering the last time the boy talked about Gon. Killua froze, looking off to the side. She narrowed her eyes slightly from his sudden nervous energy.

"I, uh...don't know?" Killua said sheepishly. Alluka looked scandalized, huffing and crossing her arms.

“Brother! What do you mean you don’t know?! He’s your best friend!” She scolded. “When was the last time you spoke to him?”   


“Maybe a couple of months ago?” Killua thought for a moment. He held up his hands at the look on his sister’s face. “Okay, I know it sounds bad, but I sort of had to...distance myself. I can’t stop dwelling on the past if I continuously talk to him.”

“That’s not the way to go about this!” She groaned, rubbing her temples. “You basically just cut him off as his best friend!” Killua gave a small frown.

“Well, it wasn’t entirely beneficial to my own well-being, Alluka.” He said a tad bit defensively. Alluka held her hands up.

“I know. Trust me, I know,” She said understandingly so she didn’t invalidate him. “I’m just saying. What if something happened? You wouldn’t even know.”

Killua paused, taking a moment to ponder about what she said. Something happening to Gon and he wasn’t there to help? Nah, there was no way. Gon was one of the strongest people he knew. He’d be alright. But, then again, he hadn’t known what the boy had been up to as of late. What if she had been right? He shook off the worrying thoughts before they overtook him.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” He said, waving a hand to hopefully dismiss it. Alluka didn’t look quite done yet. She suddenly held her hand out to the other boy. “What? You’re not about to take another sweet from me.”

“Give me your phone.” She said, her tone leaving no room for argument. He blinked for a moment in surprise but shrugged and tossed it to her. She entered the passcode to it. She had a knack for just figuring out things like passwords. Definitely should be a skill they could use in the future, so she had gotten pretty good with it. 

“What are you even doing?” He asked, watching her scan the screen as small anxiety bubbled up within him. While he did trust his sister with his life, he did feel a little uncomfortable with her having free reign of his phone.

“Going to your messages with Gon.” She said casually. He shot up, trying to grab to phone from her. She, surprisingly, dodged with ease and he hissed.

“Give me my phone back!” He urged, only for her to shrug it off. 

“Nope,” She said, popping to the ‘p’. “I need to gauge the situation to see if it’s salvageable.”

“Nothing needs to be salvaged! It’s fine!” He tried again, making another grab and getting dodged.

Killua just groaned, slouching back in his seat and angrily munching on another sweet he grabbed. Whatever, she could go through his damn phone. What did he care anyway? 

At least, that was his train of thought until he saw how her face changed once she found the conversation.

Her face had gone from an investigative glance to just an all-out frown. She even looked sad. He knew he had been ignoring Gon for a few months, but is it really that bad? The boy was probably living it up on Whale Island since he grew up there. It must’ve been great to finally be around Mito again. Right?

Wordlessly, she turned his phone back off and slid it across the table. He slowly and anxiously took it back and put it in his pocket. The air suddenly felt way heavier there, now weighing him down with the unknown lurking in the messages he hadn’t looked at. He slowly looked back up at her, almost flinching at her concerned gaze.

“You need to talk to him.” Was all she said before she went back to being silent, going about eating more of the sweets they had. He almost broke out into a nervous sweat from her low tone and her silence that followed it up. He just silently began eating again as well, finishing what they paid for. It couldn’t have been that bad. 

Right?

Killua sighed, glancing at the clock beside his bed. It was already three o'clock in the morning and he could tell he wasn't getting anywhere near sleep tonight. He knew Alluka would scold him for not doing so in the morning since she'd somehow just know, but there was nothing he could do about it. He reached over and grabbed his phone off the nightstand behind him and made sure the sound was off so he wouldn’t wake Alluka before idly playing some games to pass the time. The words his sister had said to him were still haunting him to this day. 

Could it really be that bad? He never thought about how he’d start talking to Gon again. Or if he’d do it all. He paused his game, staring at the ceiling for a moment before starting to get a grasp on the situation himself.

He and Gon parted ways in early August and it was the next year, a couple of months later. He and Gon had kept in touch in the beginning, but Killua started letting the conversations become more and more one-sided before he took to clearing any notifications he had received from Gon without even reading a word of them. He took a deep breath, opening the conversation and wincing from how long he had gone without responding. He went back to the most recent message he had sent himself and read from there.

**20 August**

**sunshine kid: so many children have shown up at whale island since I’ve been here!!!**

**sunshine kid: there used to be only one other kid my age here, but now there are plenty!**

**sunshine kid: maybe i’ll make some new friends!**

**sunshine kid: no matter what, though, you’ll always be my best friend!**

**31 August**

**sunshine kid: aunt mito just enrolled me in school!!!**

**sunshine kid: i’ve never been, but i’m sure it’ll be great!**

**sunshine kid: well, even if it isn’t, it’s good to try and stay positive!**

**sunshine kid: how have you been? any new adventures lately?**

It was such a simple question. Why had Killua been so pained to answer it? Even if he didn’t want to answer, he could’ve just sent a quick few words in reply and stopped thinking about him again. Guilt crept up slowly as he continued reading.

**25 September**

**sunshine kid: so, school has been going on for a while now**

**sunshine kid: there are some really nice people!**

**sunshine kid: but, it’s not everyone**

**sunshine kid: some of the people are mean**

**sunshine kid: but, that’s okay!**

**sunshine kid: i’ll still try to be friends with them!**

**sunshine kid: so, don’t worry about me or anything!**

**sunshine kid: have you ever been to school?**

**sunshine kid: if you have, how did you do?**

**31 October**

**sunshine kid: happy halloween, killua!**

**sunshine kid: are you doing anything scary this holiday?**

**sunshine kid: then again, nothing should scare us after what we’ve been through, haha**

**sunshine kid: i’m not doing anything**

**sunshine kid: i don’t really feel like trick-or-treating this year and i don’t really have anyone else to do it with**

**sunshine kid: i ended up not really getting too close with anyone**

**sunshine kid: well, i’m friendly with people, but things happened and no one really goes out of their way to talk to me**

**sunshine kid: that’s okay, though!**

**sunshine kid: how’s alluka doing? **

**sunshine kid: you two still moving around?**

**25 December**

**sunshine kid: merry christmas, killua!**

**sunshine kid: even though it’s christmas, i’m not really feeling the spirit**

**sunshine kid: so, I hope wherever you are with alluka, you two are having fun during the holiday!**

**sunshine kid: is it weird to say that i feel like you’re not getting my messages?**

**sunshine kid: you just haven’t responded in a long time**

**sunshine kid: so it would make sense**

**sunshine kid: unless you’re just ignoring me**

**sunshine kid: but you wouldn’t do that**

**sunshine kid: ...would you?**

**31 December**

**sunshine kid: do you hate me?**

**sunshine kid: i wouldn’t blame you if you hated me.**

**sunshine kid: i’m such a terrible person. **

**sunshine kid: i was so bad to you and i’m so sorry.**

**sunshine kid: i can’t do anything right.**

**sunshine kid: i lost my nen and nothing about me is special or strong anymore.**

**sunshine kid: i can’t go adventuring like i used to or even leave whale island because i’m so weak.**

**sunshine kid: i get made fun of for being dumb because i can’t understand the school work.**

**sunshine kid: i get rumors spread about me because i turned down a popular girl when she asked me out.**

**sunshine kid: how can people just be so mean for no reason? **

**sunshine kid: then again, i shouldn’t complain.**

**sunshine kid: i deserve it.**

**sunshine kid: a horrible person gets treated horribly.**

**sunshine kid: and here i go making it all about me again**

**sunshine kid: i told myself i would stop that**

**sunshine kid: leorio and kurapika are always so busy with their lives and rarely text back when i try to talk, so i stopped trying.**

**sunshine kid: you’re probably wishing i did the same thing with you already, huh?**

**sunshine kid: i’m sorry.**

**1 January**

**sunshine kid: hey.**

**sunshine kid: do me one last favor and ignore all of that?**

**sunshine kid: i doubt you will, but please.**

**sunshine kid: you don’t need to worry about me.**

**sunshine kid: you’ve done enough things for me and i can never repay you.**

**sunshine kid: so, i hope you’re doing well.**

**sunshine kid: i’m going to stop sending these bothersome messages.**

**sunshine kid: maybe you can finally just forget i ever existed.**

**sunshine kid: that’d probably be for the best.**

**sunshine kid: i’m sorry.**

**sunshine kid: bye.**

He couldn’t read anymore. He practically threw his phone across the room, not caring about the crack her heard from its impact on the floor. He felt his breathing speed up as overwhelming guilt rose in his chest and tears prickled at his eyes as he screwed them shut. He hadn’t been thinking. He had been so wrapped up in getting over the boy that he hadn’t given much thought to how Gon was really doing. He always just assumed. He just assumed.

“Brother? Is that you?” Alluka yawned, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eyes. She looked over slowly to look at her brother, taking a moment to fully process his current state. Once she did, she was wide awake, practically jumping from her bed to his, concern levels in their peak. She quickly went about trying to calm him down so he didn’t hyperventilate or descend further into panic. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m right here.” She soothed.

At the sound of her caring voice, he began to break down into guilty tears. She didn’t say anything about them, only wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. He quickly returned it, seeking out the comfort she was giving even though he felt like he shouldn’t be the one receiving it. He closed his eyes and focused on calming himself down. 

They stayed like this for some time until Killua was able to breathe properly and the tears stopped flowing endlessly. He sniffled and Alluka pulled back to look him over. He looked to the side in slight embarrassment, wiping his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Sorry, Alluka.” He apologized softly, but she shook her head quickly.

“Don’t. There’s nothing to apologize for.” She said softly, giving him a concerned frown. “...Do you want to talk about it?” She asked, obviously treading lightly so she didn’t trigger him. He didn’t know where she learned to be so considerate with the family they had, but he knew that he had the greatest little sister in the world. 

“...I read them.” He answered, pointing to his phone across the phone. He gave a tiny grimace at its remains on the ground. He’d have to go out and buy a new one in the morning. Alluka looked over to it before back to him, looking like she understood. “I’m a terrible friend. I abandoned him. Again.”

“You’re not a terrible friend, brother.” She began softly. “It’s just that things got complicated. You didn’t just abandon him.”

“I did. I didn’t respond to his messages. I could’ve been there for him. But, I wasn’t. I left him all alone and he felt like he had no one. He sounded depressed.” He continued his downward spiral of self-blame before a thought went across his mind.

Could he have taken his own life?

No, he couldn’t have. It was Gon. No matter what, he wouldn’t just give up. He couldn’t. It wasn’t in him. But, then again, this sort of depressive energy didn’t seem to be in him either. And here it was. Now it was April and the boy hadn’t sent another message since. The thought made his breath catch in his throat and he felt more tears threatening to spill. Before he could get too far in his own head, Alluka gripped his shoulder to get him to focus on her.

“I have a feeling I know what you’re thinking about.” She said understandingly. “But, you shouldn’t think like that. Have you thought about asking your other friends that he mentioned? Maybe they know something.”

“Yeah...yeah, maybe I will.” He breathed out, trying to keep the panic away for the time being. He didn’t need to be overtaken again.

“...You could also go to Whale Island.” Alluka suggested. Killua’s head snapped up at the suggestion.

“Go to Whale Island? I can’t!” He refused immediately.

“Why not?” She was swift to follow up, keeping her gaze locked with his.

“I...I have to watch over you.” He tried. She gave him an unimpressed look.

“Please, Brother. You’ve been training me in my Nen and fighting enough that I’ll be able to hold my own.” She said. “Plus, if you needed me to be safe, you’ll find out how. You always do.” 

Damn, she was right. He looked down, working it through in his head. Should he go? He strangely felt like he wasn’t allowed there anymore. Like going there would be trespassing. Did he have any right to go anymore? He was lost, but he did know one thing.

He wanted to see Gon again. No, he needed to. He needed to make sure the boy was safe.

“I can tell you’re thinking it about, so keep thinking about it for a little longer,” Alluka said, standing up from his bed. She turned to go back to her own bed before he spoke again.

“I need to make sure he’s okay.” Was all he said, not sure why he even said it in the first place. Alluka turned around, blinking at him before smiling.

“That’s what I like to hear. Go get that boy of yours, brother.” She giggled as his face lit up in a blush, dodging a pillow he threw at her as she lied back down.

“Don’t word it like that, Alluka!” He hissed in embarrassment, his heart speeding up like a traitor. 

“Word it like what, brother?” She said, feigning innocence as she giggled and rolled over to go back to sleep. “Do try and get some sleep. I won’t have you trying to live off of caffeine for another day.”

He grumbled to himself as he leaned back on his bed again and stared at the ceiling. Even though she was annoying when she teased him, he still loved her dearly. He seriously didn’t deserve her. A small, appreciative smile rose on his face before he decided he should try and sleep. With everything being known now, it was easier to navigate his thoughts towards one end.

He drifted off into slumber thinking about how he needed to pay a visit to Whale Island sometime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the few positive comments. I think I'll try to keep seeing how this story does and continue updating for a while. They may take a second because of school and other things, but I'll do my best to not wait too long in between uploads. In the meantime, you can follow me on Tumblr @kansxy.

“Hey, brother! I found those candies that you like!”

Killua broke out of his thoughts as he looked up to see his sister holding up some chocorobos. He gave a smile, giving her head a pat as he took them from her. She looked pleased from the head pat, but gave a small pout. 

“Come on, you’ve been in your head all day. Is it about what happened last night?” She asked, huffing slightly from having her sibling barely down to earth for the past couple days. The boy had already been a little out of it before he read Gon’s text messages, so now he was truly rarely even paying that much attention unless there was an immediate danger. He hadn’t told her anything, so he couldn’t be surprised she was feeling a bit upset.

“It’s fine, Alluka. I’m just thinking about what to do.” He admitted to her. She blinked at him like he’d said something outlandish.

“So, basically, you mean you’re thinking about going to see him, right?” Alluka replied, almost making Killua choke. She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not going to force you, but you really should. I completely understand how what he did hurt you, but he’s clearly hurting too. You guys should talk it out.”

She was right. He knew she was right, so why did he feel so...scared? Gon was his best friend. His first friend. But, whenever he thought about seeing him again, his heart starts racing and he’s not sure if it’s from panic or something more. Alluka mercilessly teased him about it, but he wasn’t too sure if it was romantic. Like, would he kill for the boy? Absolutely. Would he want the boy to be happy no matter what? Of course. Would he like to be a part of that happiness someday and be at his side forever? Totally!

He pursed his lips together at the warmth beginning to creep in at all of the thoughts. Maybe this was something he needed to think about later.

“Brother! Come on, stop being weird and just standing there! We need to check out!” Alluka whined, finally bringing him back to the candy store yet again. The cashier was giving him a slightly concerned look.

“Um, sir? Your total will be a ten-thousand jenny.” She told him yet again. Killua flushed slightly in embarrassment.

“Right, right. Sorry about that.” Killua paid and took the candy from her. “Sheesh, sis, how much candy did you buy?”

“That was literally all you, brother. All I got were these.” Alluka deadpanned, showing him a small bag. He blinked and looked at his, realizing that he mindlessly grabbed a huge amount of chocorobos while he was lost in thought.

Well, he wasn’t complaining.

-

Later that day, the two siblings were relaxing in the room they were staying. Alluka was watching TV and Killua was keeping himself entertained with a book. It was fairly silent before Alluka gave a small gasp. Killua instantly shot up, ready to fight.

“What? What is it?” Killua asked urgently. His sister turned to look at him.

“Brother, it’s nothing you need to fight, it’s fine. I just realized you don’t have a phone!” She told him. He blinked and realized.

Oh, yeah, he cracked it on the ground when he threw it. Damn.

“Oh, yeah, you’re right.” Killua smacked himself on the forehead. That was really a stupid move.

“Let’s go get you another one! In case you get another message!” She got up and began to get ready to leave out again. Killua just rolled his eyes and got ready as well.

A little later, they were in a phone store. They got the latest edition phones (he had gotten Alluka one just because) and then got all of their information on it transferred from the old ones before heading out. Alluka was toying with her new phone, already seeming obsessed with it as Killua casually took out his and waited a moment for everything to fully get connected. Once it did, his phone buzzed with incoming text messages. He must’ve gotten them earlier.

“Oh, you did get messages! Who are they from?” Alluka leaned over to see his phone. She saw Kurapika’s name pop up and then a name she didn’t know for sure. “Okay, I know Kurapika because you’ve talked about him, but who’s ‘Old Man’?”

“That would be Leorio.” Killua snickered at the contact name he’d forgotten he’d set for the old man. He wondered what they could want, though? They didn’t usually message him. He decided to check on Kurapika’s message first.

**April 13**

**Kurapika: Hello, Killua. I apologize for not speaking for so long, but you know I’ve been busy. But, I would like to know if you’ve heard from Gon?**

Seeing the message made Killua feel uneasy, remembering how Gon did bring up their two other friends in his most recent messages to him. The message was sent a couple of hours ago, so he could only hope the man was still around.

**chocoroboi: hey, sorry, my phone broke after some things happened. haven’t heard from him for a couple months due to...reasons.**

**Kurapika: Don’t tell me you’ve been ignoring him?**

Kurapika’s reply came surprisingly fast. The Kurta must’ve been really worried if he was paying this much attention to catch Killua’s response. It added to the uneasy feeling he had growing in the pit of his stomach and he instantly felt defensive like the man was looking into his soul. He and his sister had returned to their room at this point and Killua was on his bed with his shoes off in one fluid motion. He didn’t even really notice when his sister slid in beside him to keep reading the messages that they were exchanging.

**chocoroboi: a lot happened between us.**

**chocoroboi: i didn’t mean anything malicious by it. we just needed a break.**

**chocoroboi: so don’t get all high and mighty with me about or anything. you ignore us all of the time.**

**Kurapika: Now, now, Killua. There’s no need to get up in arms about anything.**

**Kurapika: Obviously, I’m not sure what happened. I heard Gon was injured after you two were involved in an operation with Chimera Ants. So, I’m sorry for that.**

**Kurapika: You can fill me in on everything later. I was just hoping you keep in contact with Gon because of some rather...concerning messages I’ve received.**

**chocoroboi: ....what do you mean?**

**Kurapika: He was saying things like he was a horrible person and he’s sorry he ever wasted my time with his presence. Along with the fact he would stop bothering me now and how much he regrets everything. **

**Kurapika: I don’t usually check on my phone for anything besides work, but right now, I’m regretting not checking my personal messages sooner.**

**Kurapika: I tried to reply to get him to talk to me, but he hasn’t replied yet, so I’m concerned. I was hoping you had talked to him.**

**Kurapika: But, apparently, you also haven’t spoken to him.**

**chocoroboi: how long ago did he send them?**

**Kurapika: It would seem he sent them a couple of weeks ago and I hadn’t seen the messages.**

Killua went cold reading the messages from his friend. Even Kurapika was this concerned? He didn’t think the man was unfeeling or didn’t care about them, it’s just that it was hard to see him so...emotional about something. Well, besides killing the Troupe. He couldn’t believe this happened to someone who was usually so cheery and positive about things. He couldn’t help but feel like he failed him yet again and that he was a terrible friend. Alluka told him he was justified in how he felt toward the boy after what happened with the Chimera Ants, but he never truly felt like it. If only he would’ve-

“Brother? You’re spacing out and your breathing is picking up...are you okay?” Alluka questioned beside her brother, her tone soft and concerned. Killua was snapped out of his thoughts before they spiraled yet again.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He tried to assure, giving her a pat on the head. Alluka didn’t look nearly as convinced as she should’ve been. He sighed, figuring there was no use, but he decided to still attempt. “Alluka, I promise I’m fine. You don’t need to worry or anything.”

“I don’t believe you, but we’ll talk about that later.” She didn’t budge. Not even one bit. Killua groaned at himself on the inside before he went to go back to the text conversation. Kurapika had sent another message.

**Kurapika: I have to go. I have some business to attend to.**

**Kurapika: Do see if Gon’s alright, will you? If you can.**

**Kurapika: And message Leorio back already? He’s been flooding my phone with messages about this because you haven’t responded.**

**chocoroboi: got it. thanks for the heads-up.**

Despite the severe guilt and paranoia he was feeling for his best friend at the moment, the last comment made him smile a little bit. Leorio was kind of the dad friend of their group, so maybe he’d help him feel better? He went to go open his messages with the man.

**April 12**

**old man: Killua we need to talk**

**old man: You better not be ignoring me**

**old man: Killua **

**old man: KILLUA YOU LITTLE SHIT ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW**

Nevermind. This conversation was gonna give him a headache. He could tell right off the bat from how impatient the man was being. He looked at the time and seen he sent the first one at an ungodly hour of the night. Granted, Killua was usually up at these times, but he broke his phone last night and had tired himself out due to his attack. Alluka giggled from beside him, causing him to roll his eyes and begin typing back.

**chocoroboi: calm down, calm down.**

**chocoroboi: my phone broke and i didn’t see your messages until just now.**

**old man: THANK GOD**

**old man: YOU FINALLY REPLIED**

**old man: I’VE BEEN HERE WORRYING MY ASS OFF**

Killua winced to himself as he read the man’s urgent texts. He didn’t think about how Kurapika and Leorio really must be taking this. If he didn’t regret not replying to Gon _ and _throwing his phone last night, he definitely did now. He sighed softly to himself and started his reply.

**chocoroboi: let me guess**

**chocoroboi: does it have something to do with gon?**

**old man: It has EVERYTHING to do with Gon**

**old man: PLEASE tell me you’ve heard from him**

**old man: It seems like you know what’s going on, at least**

**chocoroboi: unfortunately, i don’t.**

**old man: Come on, not even you?!**

**old man: Kurapika didn’t even know**

**old man: Gon sent me these messages and now i'm real worried for the kid**

**old man: When was the last time you spoke to him?**

**chocoroboi: ….i haven’t heard from him since august. his last message to me was in january, but i never replied to any of the ones he sent.** ****  
**  
** **old man: WHAT?!**

**chocoroboi: could you please not yell at me through text? i would rather you not.**

**old man: Oh, is that so?**

**old man: I completely understand**

Not even ten seconds later, Killau’s phone was buzzing with a call from Leorio. He just stared at it for a moment, wearing a deadpan expression and wondering if he should answer it or not. Having these conversations honestly wore him out, but he figured it’d be unnecessarily mean for him to leave him hanging on this one.

“Looks like you’re in trouble, brother,” Alluka observed casually. He shot her a little glare before sighing and answering the phone.

“This isn’t what I meant-” Killua couldn’t even get through half of his statement before Leorio cut him off.

“I don’t care what you meant! Explain yourself! Now!” Leorio shouted into the phone. Killua winced and held it away from his face for a moment. He paused momentarily before speaking again.

“Listen. You saw how bad the situation was when Gon was in that hospital bed. So much stuff happened leading up to that. I didn’t know what to do about him when we split up, so I...I-I just needed some time.” He admitted to his friend, figuring there was no point in lying. He heard said man soften up in his breathing before he gave a big sigh.

“Alright, alright. I didn’t mean to yell at you, I’m just _ really _fucking worried about him.” Leorio sighed. Killua felt the guilt make itself known again.

“Yeah. I am too.” Killua mumbled in response. Alluka looked at her brother worriedly as he seemed to stare off into space.

“That’s it,” Alluka suddenly decided, causing Killua to snap out of his thoughts. He looked at her in mild confusion before she poked him in the chest with her finger. “You have to go to Whale Island.”

“W-What?! Alluka, I can’t-” His sister cut him off swiftly.

“I know you’re going to try to say something like you’re not ready and you can’t leave me alone. Firstly, if you keep saying that, brother, you’re not going to go anywhere. I can see that from how you’ve been acting. You’ll just keep going in circles in your mind as time passes.” Alluka started and he had to admit she was correct. “Secondly, you say it like you won’t find out a way to keep me safe. You always do.”

She was right. She was absolutely right. Leorio was agreeing with her on the phone, needing to know if Gon was okay. He took a deep breath.  
  
“What about you, Leorio? And Kurapika?” He asked after a moment. Leorio didn’t respond for a moment. He was probably surprised by the sudden question. Killua wouldn’t blame him.

“I can’t go right now, but I promise I’ll be there as soon as I can. And I will find Kurapika and _drag him_ there if I need to. Whale Island, right? I’ll be heading over as soon as I can." Killua gave a nod to himself.

“Alright, take care of yourself. Maybe I’ll see you soon.” Killua replied quickly. Before the man could respond, he ended the phone call and sighed, covering his face.

Was this really happening? Was he really going to meet Gon again after all of these months? After everything that happened between them? He didn’t even know if he was ready or not and it was all happening so fast. He felt a squeeze on his shoulder and looked over to see his sister giving him a supportive, determined stare.

No. He was going to do this. He had to do this. For Gon.

-

Killua gulped, anxiety taking over his entire being as he began to approach Gon’s house on Whale Island. He hadn’t been here in what felt like years, but the last time he came here was so clear in his mind. Having Gon show him around the island, their talk under the stars, and figuring out the secrets of Greed Island in his room. When the memories all came rushing back, he froze in place. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. He was pretty close to the house, but he didn’t think anyone was around. Maybe he could just turn around and-

“Killua? Is that you?” A female voice called out, causing his heart to damn near leap out of his chest. He spun around to see Mito walking up behind him, carrying some groceries. She looked about as shocked as he felt to see him standing there. 

“...H-Hey, Miss Mito.” He told her politely, his heart thumping against his rib cage. He was very wary of what her reaction would be before he got a hard smack on the head. It didn’t hurt, but he still felt like recoiling like he’d been struck with nen. He inhaled sharply, looking down at the ground. “Okay, I know it-”

“That’s for not coming to visit earlier. We were worried about you, you know!” Mito cut him off, giving a little motherly huff. Killua was sent reeling from her tone. She didn’t sound as nearly and infuriated as he thought she would be. He took his chances and looked up to see her face.

Mito’s face was full of concern, yet there was also relief mixed in with it after finally being able to see him again. He suddenly felt like everything came up at once and then there were suddenly tears rolling down his face. He furiously tried to wipe them away, but they kept coming. 

“Oh, honey, come here.” The woman whispered to him comfortingly, pulling him into an embrace with her free arm. He felt such warmth and love come from such a simple gesture, it was blowing his mind more and more as it went on. He never had anything like this with his own parents, so it hurt even more than he made her worry even a little bit.

Before Killua could stop himself or force himself to become stable again, he found he was clutching onto Mito as he let himself cry over everything he’d been thinking about since he read Gon’s text messages. She didn’t mind or judge him at all, just giving him comforting rubs on his backs while gently shushing him and giving him soft reassurances. It eventually helped him to calm down enough to stop crying and become somewhat calm again. She sensed this and let him go, allowing him to take a step back, sniffling before taking a deep breath.

“U-Um, thanks. For that.” He thanked awkwardly, shoving his hands in his hoodie pockets in slight self-consciousness. Mito only smiled softly, shaking her head.

“You don’t ever have to thank me for something like that, honey.” She told the boy, causing him to damn near cry again. “Come on inside, won’t you? Gon’s not here at the moment. He should be home from school soon, though, if you wanted to see him.”

Killua felt the anxiety creep in again, but he pushed it down this time. He gave a little nod and offered to take the bag of groceries Mito was holding. She thanked him, handed over the bag, and lead the way back to the house. Even Gon’s grandmother gave him a warm greeting when she saw him. He felt like he truly didn’t deserve the good treatment they were giving him. Soon enough, he was being fed at the dinner table because Mito had insisted.

“So, Killua,” Mito started softly. Killua glanced up from the empty plate of food he finished when she called his name. He fumbled for a quick second before taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“Yes?” He asked politely, not wanting to upset her or be rude. Her face looked a little sad already and it honestly didn’t sit right with him knowing he might be the cause of it.

“Could you please tell me what happened between you and Gon? He used to talk about you all the time, but now he doesn’t anymore...not that he talks much at all.” Mito said, concern dripping more and more into her voice as she went on. Killua felt physical pain upon hearing it and it gave him the nerve to be decisive.

“I messed up. I was being a bad friend to him. But, I came here to be there for him. I’ll do my best to make things right. I promise.” Killua found his voice to be unusually steady for a proclamation such as this one. Mito blinked in surprise, but she smiled softly.

“Thank you, Killua. I’m really glad to hear-” Mito was abruptly cut off by a thud.

The two in the room looked over to see Gon standing there, bookbag on the ground as he stared wide-eyed at Killua.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did my best on this chapter, so I hope it came out okay. Let me know what you guys think in the comments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a little more than a week to post this new chapter. I got busy with school stuff and then it's just hard to get through things sometimes. Because of that, this may seem a little bad, but I tried. Anyway, here's the chapter.

Killua felt his mind spin at seeing Gon again after so many months of not speaking to him. Relief hit him as he saw that the boy was still alive, but his concern only rose again at seeing the current state he was in. Something in Gon lacked...life. Normally, if he saw Killua after a long time, he’d run at him and grab him in a hug while saying his name in a sing-song voice. He’d look so happy just to see him again. But, the only thing he was doing there was standing and staring. His usually vibrant, excited amber eyes were dull and emotionless, save for a bit of surprise to see his best friend sitting there. Mito looked between the two boys and decided to let them have a moment, excusing herself and disappearing into another part of the house.

“...Hey.” Killua greeted before he realized what he was doing. After all this time and after all he’d put him through, he could only muster that much? He mentally smacked himself over and over again.

“...What are you doing here?” Gon quietly asked. The tone didn’t hold any anger or malice, but Killua still found himself wincing. The boy’s tone physically hurt him. What used to be so energetic and happy now only sounded empty.

“...I got your texts.” Killua figured he might as well be honest. He didn’t want to lead Gon on unnecessarily, but it only clicked how it sounded after he said it. 

“Oh. Those. Right.” Gon mumbled, looking down. “Well, if that’s it, you can go. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Wow, he was really messing this whole thing up, wasn’t he?

“No, no, that’s not it.” Killua shook his head quickly, standing. “It’s just...I’m...can we go to your room?”

“My room? I guess.” Gon replied impassively, grabbing his bag and then trudging up the stairs to his room. Killua followed behind him, silent as always.

This felt...wrong. Last time they did something like this here, Gon was practically flying up the stairs, wanting to show his friend his bedroom. Now as they were entering the room again, Killua almost shivered from how everything felt so cold and detached. Most of Gon’s things he had last time he was here were either put away or thrown out because his room looked much more basic than it did when they first visited. Said boy sat down at his desk and glanced at the bed for Killua to sit down. He did and they spent a short amount of time just looking at each other. Gon didn’t let on any emotion while Killua felt like he was about to combust from not knowing what to do.

“I’m sorry.” Killua blurted out. Before he could stop himself, he found the words spilling out of his mouth. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I just needed some time and the memories were painful, so I thought I’d not reply for a while. But, a while turned into a  _ long _ while before I knew it and I avoided thinking about it for all that time. I feel  _ so  _ bad for leaving you behind like that. I swear I didn’t mean to and if I could change it, I would. Please,  _ please forgive me. _ ”

Killua let himself go on a tangent, his heart hammering in his chest. He was clutching his knees, not meeting Gon’s eyes. But, after a couple of beats of silence, he figured he had to. He calmed himself by taking a deep breath and looked up at the other boy.

Gon was giving him a small, empty smile and he was certain the sight would plague him for a long time to come as something he caused.

“You don’t need to say sorry, Killua. I should be saying sorry. I shouldn’t have ever bothered you in the first place. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it until it was too late.” Gon told him, not an ounce hesitation in his voice. Killua looked at him with wide eyes in disbelief.

Gon really didn’t think he mattered to Killua. At all.

The white-haired boy almost completely lost his shit at this true revelation, but told himself it wouldn’t be best in front of Gon. He would just think he made him worse. His mind spiraled as he thought of what to say or what to do. Nothing in particular was coming to mind, so he had no choice but to see how things ended up.

“You didn’t bother me, Gon. You never bothered me. Gon, you *saved* me.” Killua expressed genuinely. For a moment, he thought he could see the boy’s eyes flicker with something, so he thought he should keep going. “If it wasn’t for you, I might not even be here right now. I might be off in some other place in the world, killing people on demand for my family or being trained to be the next head. But, you saved me from that life. You made it possible for me to do what I want without anyone telling me otherwise. You gave me the strength I needed to save Alluka and make my own decisions. You  _ never  _ bothered me with your presence, Gon. And I don’t want you to ever think that you did.”

Killua wasn’t sure where that heartfelt spiel came from, but he was glad he got it out of his system. He wasn’t sure it fixed anything in the long run, but it definitely felt good to get it off of his chest. He looked at Gon in the eyes and said boy seemed to take in a quiet, sharp breath before abruptly turning around in his desk. 

“I-I need to get my homework done.” Gon told him, his voice shaky for a moment. Killua gave a slow nod, but then realized Gon wasn’t looking at him.

“Okay.” He agreed verbally this time. “...Can I stay here?”

Gon replied with a wordless nod as he grabbed his bag and began taking stuff out to do homework. Not as an insult to the raven-haired boy, but the sight of him doing anything studious was seriously off-putting to Killua. It dawned on him that the boy no longer had his nen and this was probably all he was capable of. He wondered if the boy still trained himself despite this. He noticed his defined muscles on his arms and he could tell he has muscle underneath the shirt too. His face, despite the somber moment, began to heat up as he began to imagine the boy with no shirt on. He actually slapped himself this time, causing Gon to give him a dull, confused look over his shoulder. Killua quickly put his hands up and motioned for him to be ignored. Gon looked him up and down before turning back around to continue working. Killua silently sighed in disappointment at himself.

This encounter wasn’t going too well if he wasn’t mistaken. He stared at Gon’s back as the boy toiled away at what seemed to be...math? He squinted at the books on his desk and noticed that he hadn’t been progressing too much. He knew how Gon’s body language looked when he was thinking hard. He frowned slightly, giving a small sigh. 

“Do you want me to help? I could probably get you through it faster.” Killua offered as a long-shot effort to get them talking again. He saw Gon flinch at the question and was almost about to take it back before the other spoke.

“...Sure. Let me just go to the bathroom real quick.” He mumbled, quickly standing and going to the bathroom. Killua blinked and watched him go before looking over his work on the desk. Easy enough. He should be able to help his friend get through it easier. He leaned against the wall, idling for a minute before pulling out his phone and going to a conversation with his sister.

**April 15**

**chocoroboi: hey, sis. **

**imbaby: Hello, brother! Did you make it to Whale Island safely?**

**chocoroboi: yeah, I got here a bit ago. How are things with Bisky? Warming up to her?**

**imbaby: She’s great! She’s really nice to me and she’s given me a lot of jewelry to wear!**

**chocoroboi: really? huh. guess the old hag likes you or something.**

**imbaby: You...might want to be fast when you come to pick me up.**

**chocoroboi: dammit.**

**imbaby: Anyway, how’s Gon?**

Killua found himself staring at the text for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond. Gon obviously wasn’t okay, but how would he even describe what he was seeing. The boy seemed nothing like himself and he was acting incredibly unusual. He frowned to himself as he continued to reply to his sister.

**chocoroboi: he’s...different.**

**imbaby: Good different?**

**chocoroboi: no.**

**imbaby: Oh no…**

**imbaby: What have you done since getting there?**

**chocoroboi: let’s see? **

**chocoroboi: we kind of just stared stupidly at each other and i may have just went on a little emotional tangent when he started talking bad about himself.**

**imbaby: Did it feel good to get off your chest?**

**chocoroboi: actually, yeah, it did.**

**imbaby: That’s good! What’s happening now?**

**chocoroboi: i’m about to help him with some homework.**

**imbaby: Oh, you guys should get back to it then! Good luck! I’ll talk to you later!**

**chocoroboi: he’s in the bathroom right now, but alright. talk to you later, sis.**

Killua contemplated just waiting for Gon to come back without doing anything, but felt too much nervous energy going through his system to just sit still. So, to occupy himself, he decided to update Leorio and Kurapika on the situation. He created a groupchat with both of them and then began typing.

**April 15**

**chocoroboi: i made it to whale island.**

**Kurapika: You did? Have you spoken to Gon yet?**

**old man: PLEASE tell me he’s alright**

**chocoroboi: i wouldn’t say...alright. not exactly.**

**Kurapika: What do you mean?**

**chocoroboi: you guys know gon. and he’s nothing like that.**

**chocoroboi: no energy, no spark, no nothing. he just seems...empty.**

**old man: That definitely doesn’t sound good at all**

**Kurapika: Not our Gon at all. Where are you now?**

**chocoroboi: i’m in his room. i’m waiting for him to come out of the bathroom to help him with homework.**

**Kurapika: Go help him for now. Update us later when you have more time.**

**old man: Yeah, focus on Gon for now**

**chocoroboi: yeah, alright.**

Killua slipped his phone into his pocket and sat silently for a few moments. It didn’t take long for him to start wondering why Gon had been in the bathroom for all that time. He was expecting the visit to be quick, but he was getting a little concerned. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to go check on him, so he jumped to his feet and strode over to the bedroom door. Before he could grab the doorknob and go out, Gon appeared in the room again. They both stopped abruptly, surprised to see the other so close suddenly, but Gon recovered first.

“Sorry for taking so long.” He apologized, stepping past him quickly, but not quickly enough since Killua got a good look at him. “I guess we can started. If you still want to.”

Killua had heard Gon and slowly closed the door. He watched the boy drop back down into his desk seat with an uneasy feeling causing him to feel like something was making him sick.

Were Gon’s eyes a little red when he passed by? Had he been crying?

He wanted to ask so bad. He wanted to try and prevent the other boy from crying every again. He wanted it to feel like it wasn’t his fault and that he could make everything better again for him. But, he didn’t think right now would be the best time to go into all of that. Instead, he just walked over to him and began to help him with his homework.

Gon was tense the entire time.

-

“Boys! Come downstairs for dinner!” Mito called up to them, effectively snapping them out of their work mode. They had just finished going through Gon’s homework. Killua stretched before turning towards the door.

“Come on, let’s go eat. We’re finished anyway.” Killua said, stepping over to leave the room.

“You go ahead. I’m not hungry.” Gon told him dully, causing Killua to stop in his tracks. He whipped around and Gon only glanced at him. “What? It’s fine. Go get something to eat?”

Killua suddenly lost his appetite. He frowned a little as they stared at one another for a bit before the raven-haired boy apparently couldn’t keep up any longer, turning to look out the window instead. Killua paused for a moment before deciding he’d just stay with Gon and that he could eat later. 

“I’ll be right back.” Killua told him curtly, figuring he shouldn’t leave Mito hanging and going downstairs to alert her of the situation.

Mito seemed used to hearing that Gon didn’t want to eat, though she didn’t seem like she’d gotten over the distress of hearing it. Distress wasn’t a good look on her, so Killua promised himself yet again that he would fix this with everything he had. When he went up to go back to Gon, he found the room empty.

“Gon? Where’d you go?” Killua asked the empty room, hoping Gon would emerge from somewhere. He checked the bathroom and found that it was empty, only growing a bit more worried.

When he went back to the bedroom, he noticed that the window was open. He walked over to it just in time to see Gon disappear into the trees. From that direction, he knew where he was going. He quickly jogged back downstairs.

“Miss Mito? I’ll be right back. Gon went off somewhere and I’m gonna go with him.” He told her, keeping her posted on the situation. Mito blinked in slight surprise before giving a small smile. At Killua’s confused look, she only laughed softly.

“Out of all the times he’s done this, he has you to go after him.” Mito hummed. “I can’t quite keep up with him, so I’m glad he has you, Killua.” 

Killua couldn’t help the pale blush that dusted his cheeks, but he just pulled his hoodie over his head and gave a nod, jogging out of the house. When he actually got outside, it wasn’t hard to dash off in the direction that Gon headed. He was much more experienced than he was last time he came here, so it took no time at all to reach their certain spot. Much like all of those months ago, Gon was sitting on the ground, looking up at the stars. The dull look in his amber eyes seemed stronger than before and he laid there relatively still. Killua gulped as he steeled himself for what may have been an awkward conversation, approaching the boy silently.

“Figures you would come here.” Killua casually said, causing Gon to jolt in surprise. Killua was momentarily taken aback. “...I actually scared you?”

“...My senses aren’t exactly what they used to be at times.” Gon mumbled as he calmed himself down. Killua winced mentally as he nodded.

“I see.” He replied simply, going over and taking a seat beside his friend.

For a while, they sat there in silence as they looked up at the sky. In any other circumstance, Killua would find the moment to be quite tranquil. Now, though, there was a heavyweight on the silence that was between them and Killua felt inclined to break it. Thing is, he had absolutely no idea what to say. He didn’t want to do anything that might make Gon shy away from him. He worked over some ideas in his mind before the job was done for him.

“Why did you really come here? Was it Leorio who told you? Or Alluka?” Gon asked him out of the blue. Killua, caught off guard, only gaped at him for a moment before clearing his throat.

“That’s not why.” Killua told him right off the bat. He then took a moment to process his words. “...Well, it kinda is a factor, but it’s not the main reason. I promise you that.”

“Then why? Why come to Whale Island to visit someone like me?” Gon asked right after, not letting up in the slightest.

“Someone like you? Gon, I wasn’t lying earlier. I meant everything I said.” Killua frowned at his way of speaking. Gon’s breath hitched and when Killua turned to look at him, there was some pain hidden in his eyes.

“But I don’t deserve any of that.” Gon began to lose control of his voice ever so slightly. Killua never got used to hearing the boy in pain. He still felt as helpless as he did when he watched him cry when they lost the right to go retrieve Kite to Knuckle and Shoot. “I don’t deserve any type of kindness or anything because I’m such a  _ terrible  _ person. I-” He cut himself off with a sob that he quickly focused on trying to get under control.

Killua’s mind scrambled as he saw Gon in such pain in front of him, the boy beginning to break down before his very eyes. His body surged with the need to do something and before he could even think about doing anything else, he found himself lunging forward and grabbing his friend in a hug. He felt Gon freeze and he mentally cursed himself for doing something so stupid before he felt Gon hesitantly hug him back. Killua held his breath for a moment before speaking again.

“It’s okay to cry, you know.” He mumbled softly. He had a feeling Gon would’ve told him the same thing in the moment. Upon hearing his words, Gon latched onto Killua for dear life as he began letting out emotions he’d kept pent up or the longest time.

Killua rubbed the boy’s back as he let it all out, telling him it was okay all the while. Gon only calmed down when it got dark out and they could see the stars in the sky. Gon sniffled and that made Killua realize their position. Gon was basically almost in his lap and he had buried his face in Killua’s neck. He had absolutely no idea when it happened, but in light of the moment, he’d decided not to dwell on it. Gon didn’t move away from Killua, but his grip loosened some.

“You feeling a little better now?” Killua whispered softly. Gon wordlessly nodded into his shoulder. Killua gave a little nod before looking up. “Look up. The stars are shining.”

Gon didn’t move for a second before he sat up from Killua’s shoulder to look at the stars. When Killua took a moment to look at his eyes, he felt a mix of relief and worry. Gon’s eyes didn’t hold the same dull emptiness they did before, but now he could see the sadness behind them. He supposed it was the first step in getting him to open up and seeing what was wrong. They both laid back and just stargazed for a period of time, taking in everything that just happened in the time they were out here.

“Hey, Killua?” Gon suddenly spoke up, causing Killua to glance at him. “This isn’t a dream, right? Are you going to disappear again when I wake up?” His words hurt Killua’s heart, but he played it off with a huff.

“Duh. This isn’t a dream, idiot. I’m not going anywhere, so expect to see me when you wake up.” Killua teased, but there wasn’t even a little venom behind his words. Gon smiled softly because he could tell how much Killua meant it. It almost made him cry again.

“Okay.” Gon replied simply, going back to stargazing with his friend.

The two boys stayed there until they realized Mito must be worried sick since they were out so late. As they were dashing back, Killua felt like he made some headway in fixing things. 

He wouldn’t stop until they could be together again and put all of this behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter despite anything that might've seemed a little bad.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long. I did some stuff for my birthday and then school got in the way of me uploading faster. That being said, I hope this chapter is up to par. I tried to make it turn out okay. Anyway, follow me on Tumblr @kansxy to yell at me to update faster or something if you want. Here's the chapter.

Killua lied back on Gon’s bed, staring at the ceiling as he went over the events of yesterday. The moment in the forest replayed over and over again in his mind and he couldn’t quite figure out why. It was a heartfelt moment and he was glad he seemed to be able to comfort Gon in his time of need. But, that being said, he couldn’t quite shake a...strange feeling.

Why did hugging Gon make his heart race?

They’d been close before plenty of times. Whether it be training, sleeping, or just casual touches as they brushed past each other. Upon further thought, Killua remembered all those times and how they made him feel. He’d always felt this fuzzy, warm feeling when he was with Gon. He’d pinned it as it being part of Gon’s charm, but the boy was still feeling low and it didn’t go away. Maybe this was something more. His sister’s words about ‘going to get his boy’ suddenly echoed in his mind. His face tinged red and he had a moment of panic. All types of thoughts about being with Gon suddenly flooded him and he nearly screamed. He was so grateful Gon was at school and he wasn’t here to witness him in this pathetic state.

Though, along with the pleasant feelings he was getting from imagining himself with Gon, there was also a twinge of guilt hanging in with it. Was it right to be having these feelings when Gon was going through such a hard time? Was this taking advantage of him? Killua sure hoped it wasn’t because he’d be devastated to realize it. He sighed, shaking his head to try and clear it before pulling out his phone.

**April 16**

**chocoroboi: thanks a lot, sis.**

**imbaby: Hm? What are you talking about?**

**chocoroboi: you infected me with your mushy thoughts.**

**imbaby: Are you having a gay panic for Gon?**

**imbaby: That’s what Bisky said it was called.**

**chocoroboi: you are never allowed to stay with bisky again and i need to find you a new babysitter.**

**imbaby: So, is that a yes?**

**chocoroboi: shush.**

**imbaby: Well, just give it some thought, brother!**

**imbaby: How is Gon?**

**chocoroboi: well, some stuff happened yesterday.**

**chocoroboi: i was able to get a better idea of how he’s feeling.**

**imbaby: And?**

**chocoroboi: not good.**

**imbaby: Aw, poor Gon…**

**imbaby: Where is he right now?**

**chocoroboi: he’s at school, i think.**

**chocoroboi: actually, he should be getting back pretty soon.**

**imbaby: Well, let me know how he is when he gets back!**

**imbaby: And good luck with your gay panic!**

**chocoroboi: stop saying that! forget bisky ever told you that!**

**imbaby: Bye, brother!**

Killua groaned as he flopped back onto the bed, tossing his phone to the side in annoyance. Of course Bisky had come up with a way to corrupt his sister in such a short time. Still, he couldn’t say he regretted leaving her with Bisky too much because he knew his sister was safe for sure. Bisky wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He could feel at ease and talk to his sister just to check on her, so it gave him more time to focus on Gon.

Speaking of Gon, was he actually having a ‘gay panic’ for him? He couldn’t be, right? Well, even though it was a sad moment, he would be lying if it didn’t feel good to hold Gon like that. He did always secretly appreciate the boy’s affection. But, that was just because he’d never received it as a child, right? That had to be it. But, what if…?

He felt incredibly guilty about having these types of thoughts when Gon’s in a critical time of need. He smacked his face to clear out the thoughts about anything regarding a ‘gay panic’ and focus on helping Gon. As if on cue, Gon walked through the door, causing Killua to sit up abruptly.

“Oh, hey-” Killua stopped short in his greeting when he saw tired the other boy looked. Gon’s eyes returned to the dull state they were in before.

He kicked his bedroom door closed before dropping his bag and walking over to the bed. Killua slid over to make room for him, allowing Gon to drop onto the bed unceremoniously and give a deep sigh. He faced the wall and curled into a ball. Killua sat there for a moment, not knowing how to approach the boy. Silence rang out between them and Killua found he couldn’t take it for long.

“Uh...how was school?” Killua tried to start a conversation and instantly regretted it. ‘How was school?’ That was the best he could come up with? Pathetic. Gon gave a dull noise in response and a small shrug of his shoulders. “...Do you have any homework you need help on?”

“Yeah.” Gon answered simply. Killua shifted towards the edge of the bed.

“Do you want to get started on it?” Killua followed up with, prepared to help his friend through more math problems. 

“No.” Gon’s answer was a bit blunter than Killua had expected and it caught him off guard. He blinked, rubbing the back of his head.

“Uh, okay. Why not?” He slid back on the bed and continued staring at the obviously upset boy.

“Just not feeling up to it, I guess.” Gon mumbled, not turning to face away from the wall.

Killua just gave a small hum in response. Then the silence was back again, stronger than ever. Killua’s mind was racing, trying to think of a response. He was looking at Gon’s back, frowning a little to himself as he realized how...not okay the other was. Everything about him in that moment was screaming such exhaustion. He hadn’t seen Gon like this even after a full day of training with Bisky. 

“Are you okay?” Killua blurted out before he could think about it. Gon flinched at the question and Killua was about to take it back before Gon turned to face him.

“Why are other people so mean? I know I’m a terrible person, but I didn’t do anything to them. But they all treat me like trash.” Gon began, looking like was on the verge of tears. Killua felt his heartache from seeing the other boy so sad.

“What do you mean?” Killua questioned, remembering the boy mentioning it in his worrisome text messages before. 

“Ever since I turned the most popular girl in school, everyone treats me terribly. And...and they…” Gon trailed off, looking away from him. Killua blinked in confusion, tilting his head.

“I don’t understand.” Killua said slowly, wary of what was to come. Gon gripped at the covers beneath them.

“I used to talk about...you. Like, a lot. I talked about you in the first couple of months of school. And because of that on top of me turning down the girl, they call me…” Gon didn’t finish his thought, but it was enough for Killua to get the picture. He felt a white-hot, burning rage bubble up inside of him from the thought of anyone treating Gon like that.

_ “They what?”  _ Killua growled, the venom dripping from his voice being clearly audible. Gon flinched, but it didn’t seem to be from his friend.

“Killua, is it wrong to like another boy like that? Everyone treats it as something so wrong or offensive and I don’t know what to do.” Gon said, the tears that had been building up beginning to fall. Killua didn’t think twice before pulling him into another embrace.

Much like he did in the forest, he provided comfort to Gon for as long as he needed. Now that they were in his bed, the moment felt much more intimate and they were closer than before. Killua felt his mind get hazy, but he was brought back to attention by Gon speaking.

“...Can we stay like this for a while?” Gon whispered. Killua gave a hum.

“Yeah, we can.” Killua whispered back. With his permission, Gon nuzzled closer to the white-haired boy, burying his face in his neck. Killua tightened his hold slightly.

The moment felt so incredibly intimate that it made Killua’s head spin. He couldn’t deny the warmth he was feeling in his chest. But, it didn’t make him panic. Surprisingly, it relaxed him. He closed his eyes, pulling Gon in a little closer. All he could think about was Gon. About how he felt around him, how much he wanted to help him, how much he wanted to contribute to his happiness, how much he never wanted to leave his side.

Damn. He had it bad, didn’t he?

Now that he had come to terms with it, imagining himself being with Gon like that gave him a pleasant feeling. He could imagine sitting here just like this together, holding hands, going out together, maybe even-

He was getting ahead of himself. Gon didn’t like him back like that. He couldn’t have. He was quite upset over being accused of something of the sort and here Killua was letting his mind wander. He felt slightly disgusted with himself momentarily, but let it drift away as he decided to suppress it. 

“Killua?” Gon mumbled into his neck. Killua gave a questioning hum in response.

“Yeah?” Killua drawled quietly in response. He felt Gon take a breath against him.

“You never answered. Is it wrong to like another boy like that?” Gon asked him again, his tone shaking. Killua paused for a moment before sighing.

“Gon, don’t listen to them. Liking another boy is totally okay and you don’t have to be ashamed about it. You can be you. And if they want to waste their time worrying about you, that’s their choice. You just focus on being you and your happiness.” He told him. His heart ached momentarily, unfairly wishing he could be more of a part in that, but didn’t bring it up. “Besides, they can’t tell you what you like. Only you can. So, if they’re giving out false accusations-”

“But, what if they’re not?” Gon interrupted swiftly. Killua’s mind went blank.

“...Huh?” Killua said stupidly, nothing else coming to mind. Gon pulled back to look up at him.

“What if they’re not wrong? What if I do like boys like that? Is it...okay?” Gon glanced down again, growing more and more nervous by the second. Killua almost sputtered in absolute disbelief.

“You...you do?” Killua asked, not sounding disappointed, but surprised.

Gon looked at him, seemingly having a battle in his mind about something. Then, before Killua could even blink, he felt Gon’s lips smashing into his in a kiss. For a second, Killua didn’t move, but then he was kissing him back whole-heartedly. It shook him when it felt so  _ right. _ He felt like this was just what he needed, feeling like this was something missing from his life. They continued kissing for what felt like hours, yet seconds at the same time before they broke apart for air. Both boys just stared at each other, panting and red in the face. A few moments later, Gon blinked and realized what he’d done and promptly began freaking out.

“O-Oh my god, I’m so s-sorry-” He started to apologize profusely. Killua blinked before holding his hands up quickly, signaling for the boy to calm down.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” Killua whispered to him soothingly. Gon sniffled, close to crying again.

“B-But, I don’t deserve you! I don’t deserve to b-be with someone like you! I hurt you so b-bad!” Gon began rambling, only to get shushed by Killua again.

“Alright, Gon. I’ll be honest. What you did really hurt and I can’t lie about that.” Killua started. Gon looked terrified, beginning to go on a ‘sorry’ spree again. He signaled he wasn’t done talking. “But, I’ve already forgiven you. You were going through some tough emotions to deal with and you didn’t mean it.”

“You...you forgive me? Why?” Gon actually sounded like he couldn’t fathom a reason as to why Killua would forgive someone like him. It only fueled the desire he had to fix it with everything he had. 

“Because you’re important to me. I want to be happy and cheerful and not worried about things like this.” Killua cupped Gon’s face gently, making the boy look him in the eyes. “I want you to forgive yourself.”

“...H-How? How can I forgive m-myself for what I did to you?” Gon whispered, tears silently rolling down his cheeks. Killua wiped them away with his thumbs.

“You don’t have to do it all at once. It would be unfair of me to ask for you to make everything go away all at once. But, I do want you to know that I forgive you. It wasn’t your fault.” Killua promised him, touching his forehead with his own. He could hear Gon suck in a breath and nod against his forehead. They stayed there for a moment longer before Gon pulled back slightly to glance at him.

“S-So...you’re not mad that I like you? Like that?” Gon questioned. At this point in the conversation, it had been obvious about how the boy felt, but it still made Killua’s heart skip several beats hearing that he liked him back.

“I’m not mad.” Killua told him honestly. He wanted to jump for joy, but he figured that would definitely be too much. Gon sniffled for a second before speaking again.

“And...what do you think?” Gon followed up with quietly, voice full of the fear of rejection.

“Gon...I want you to be happy again. I want you to go back to how you were before with all these burdens on you lifted. So…” Killua trailed off with a blush. “If you want me to be a part of that-”

_ “Yes, please.”  _ Gon was quick to reply to that and it made Killua’s heart flutter. He smiled, feeling warmth bloom in his chest from hearing Gon actually wanted him.

“Then I’d like to be with you too, Gon.” Killua whispered, voice dripping with affection he didn’t know he could emit. Gon’s breath hitched.

“...Then can you kiss me again?” Gon asked quietly. Killua only smiled warmly in response.

Now finally having permission, Killua leaned forward and captured Gon’s lips again, the raven-haired boy immediately kissing back. They stayed in an embrace for long after they parted for air, having fallen onto their sides at some point during their kissing. Neither minded and remained in a comfortable silence as the time passed by. Killua felt right holding Gon in his arms in an embrace, eyes closed and nearly relaxed to the point of sleeping. It was Gon’s small whine that brought him back down to earth before he fell asleep, though.

“Hm? What’s the matter?” Killua asked. Gon only glanced up at him.

“I really have to do that homework. I’m already failing.” Gon mumbled, still not feeling up to it. Killua remedied it by giving him a kiss on the head.

“Come on. I’ll help you. And I’ll make sure it raises your grade.” Killua told him confidently. Gon raised an eyebrow.

“It’s only homework. Not a project or anything like that.” Gon informed him. Killua only gave a small smirk.

“So? I meant what I said. I’ll make sure it raises your grade.” Killua replied. Gon gave a small laugh in response to the boy’s antics.

“Alright, Killua. I guess we should get started now.” He whined slightly, not wanting to get up. Killua was staring at him, reeling because, for the first time since they’d reunited, Gon had given him a genuine laugh. He couldn’t begin to describe how amazing it felt to hear. “...Hey?” Gon prodded softly.

“Yeah?” Killua hummed, shaking off the daze he was in because of the boy known as Gon Freecss.

“...What are we?” Gon asked the question that was hanging in the air. Killua paused before holding onto Gon’s hands.

“I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?” Killua answered his question with another question. Gon nodded his head furiously. “Then I guess we’re together then. As boyfriends.”

Killua couldn’t even tell where this confidence was coming from all of a sudden, but he just knew it was worth having when he saw the smile that appeared on Gon’s face. Killua felt like his heart took a direct hit, but in a good way this time. He smiled in response and may have wasted a bit more time by engaging in another kissing session.

Eventually, the boys managed to get out of bed and head over to the desk, where Killua made sure Gon’s homework was spectacular. Even Gon began to be convinced that his grade would improve from the quality of the assignment. They finished around dinner time and Gon still wasn’t used to getting through all of his assignments. Killua felt happy he was actually able to get the boy through it all in the end.

“Hey, Killua?” Gon asked as he was putting his books up in his bag.

“Hm?” Killua drawled as he stretched from sitting for so long.

“Are you sure this is okay?” Gon looked at him as he spoke, uncertainty in his eyes. “I want to be with you so bad, but is it really okay for me to have something like this?”

“...Do you forgive me?” Killua began, earning a confused look from Gon. “Do you forgive me from going all MIA on you?”

“Of course! I never blamed you in the first place!” Gon was quick to reply. Killua only chuckled slightly, letting out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding upon hearing he was forgiven.

“Then I can just as easily forgive you. It’s okay. We’re okay. This is okay.” Killua assured him quietly. Gon seemed appeased, giving a small nod.

“Boys! Dinner’s ready!” Mito called them from downstairs yet again.

“Think you want to eat dinner?” Killua asked, sliding off of the desk and turning to face his boyfriend. The mere thought of calling the boy so caused his heart to skip a beat.

Geez, he was never going to get used to that, was he?

“Yeah. I think I do.” Gon replied, slightly catching Killua off guard. But, he smiled and nodded, holding out his hand for Gon to take. Gon did so without any hesitation and they walked downstairs together.

Mito and Gon’s grandmother was waiting for them when they got downstairs. It was obvious that the women were surprised to see Gon actually come downstairs. Mito gave Killua a look that conveyed her gratitude in the moment, causing his face to tinge red slightly and look off to the side as he rubbed the back of his head. They sat down at the dinner table and began eating together.

It was quiet compared to the dinner he remembered having when he first visited Whale Island, but it was alright since Gon was actually present. He made a few comments at Killua and his family every so often, but mostly let them do the talking. When Mito asked him how school was going, however, he clammed up and didn’t say anything else. It only served to remind Killua about how Gon mentioned the other kids were treating him terribly about who he liked. He felt the anger build up again.

“Hey, Gon? Take me to school with you tomorrow.” Killua requested bluntly.

Gon nearly choked on his food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave comments and kudos, please, I really enjoy reading them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a bit because I made it a little longer and I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to go about it. I hope I did a good enough job, though.

“Gon, it’s okay. There’s no need to freak out.”

“What if something happens?!”

Killua sighed, watching his boyfriend frantically pace around his bedroom in preparation for school. He had been ready himself some time ago, but Gon’s nerves were apparently through the roof. Killua watched him on before deciding enough was enough.

“Gon.”

“What if you get in trouble for being there? What if they try to kick you out or make you leave me?”

“Gon-”

“What if someone tries to do something mean? I don’t want-”

“Gon!”   
  
Gon stopped abruptly in his pacing, slowly turning to face the other boy. Killua gestured for him to come over. Gon shuffled over and Killua pulled him into a calming embrace. He still didn’t know where he sudden like for affection came from and he never thought he’d be one for it, but here he was holding Gon whenever the moment allowed for it.

“It’s okay. It’ll go fine. Nothing is going to happen to you.” Killua promised. Gon hugged him back after a moment, taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself down.

“...Are you sure?” Gon mumbled softly. Killua gave a playful scoff.

“Doubting my abilities now, are you? Thought you’d have a little more faith in me.” Killua joked. He felt warm when it got a small laugh out of his boyfriend.

“Yeah...yeah, you’re right.” Gon agreed. He was obviously still a little nervous, but he was calmer than before.

Killua gave a hum, giving him a gentle squeeze before he released him. Gon stepped back and stared at him for a couple of moments. Killua was about to ask him what he was doing before Gon leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. Killua’s face flushed and sputtered from surprise.

“W-What was that for?!” He practically hissed in his embarrassment. Gon smiled and laughed a little. 

“I was just feeling a little affectionate, I guess.” Gon admitted before turning to get the rest of his things for school.

The white-haired boy just grumbled to himself as he tried to calm his blush down. He can initiate the affection, but he can’t handle getting it out of nowhere? How did that work? He felt his phone buzz as he received a text. He pulled out his phone and winced, only now realizing he forgot to update the situation yesterday for their friends and had ignored his phone in favor of kissing Gon.

**April 17**

**old man: Killua**

**old man: Killua you little shit**

**old man: We told you to keep us updated and then you disappear for a day**

**Kurapika: Don’t mind him. He’s a little agitated.**

**Kurapika: How are you and Gon?**

**chocoroboi: things aren’t exactly looking peachy keen just yet, but they’re looking way better so far.**

**Kurapika: Oh? How so?**

**chocoroboi: ;)**

**old man: Be serious!**

**chocoroboi: i am being serious**

**Kurapika: Well, we’ll see soon anyway.**

**chocoroboi: oh, you guys are coming here?**

**Kurapika: Yes. I was able to find a little time off my work to come and visit.**

**old man: I don’t have to do anything at medical school for a while so I can come visit**

**chocoroboi: nice. **

**chocoroboi: i’m sure gon would be really happy to see you guys.**

**Kurapika: I could only hope so. I’m looking forward to seeing you guys again as well.**

**old man: Same here**

**old man: Even you, Killua**

**chocoroboi: love you too, old man.**

**old man: Stop calling me that!**

**old man: I’m not that old!**

**chocoroboi: yeah, yeah.**

“Are you ready, Killua?” Gon asked, causing Killua to look up at him from chuckling at his phone. “Oh, what’s funny?”

“I was just talking to Kurapika and Leorio. They’re on their way here.” Killua informed him. Gon blinked in surprise, looking down at the ground.

“O-Oh...that’s good. I want to see them. I need to say sorry.” Gon said sadly. Killua frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t need to apologize for anything. They’re just worried and they’re our friends. They both already said they’re looking forward to seeing us again.” Killua comforted. Gon didn’t look so sure. “You’ll see when they get here. No one’s mad, okay? It’ll be alright.”

“...Okay.” Gon replied softly. He was somewhat lost in thought before he blinked. “Oh, no! We’ll be late!”

“Well, we should get going then. Come on, let’s go.” Killua got up and they both left the room to head out. Killua shot a couple of texts off to their friends.

**chocoroboi: we’re going to gon’s school.**

**chocoroboi: i’ll talk to you guys later.**

**old man: Make sure you actually do it this time**

**chocoroboi: whatever, old man.**

**old man: Hey!**

Killua shoved his phone in his pocket before running out of the door with Gon, giving a wave to Mito on the way out. They jogged towards the town and Killua took in some things that looked different since the last time he’s been there. Gon pointed out some of the new buildings and areas to Killua as they passed them on their dash to school.

Even though their pace was nowhere near slow, it seemed Gon had been straining a little more than Killua remembered. He was breathing a little heavier while this pace should’ve been effortless. Killua gave a frown upon thinking about how Gon might’ve not been as active as he used to be due to being sad. It hurt his heart to think about the boy not doing something he loved anymore because he no longer had the motivation. He’d have to fix that real soon. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Gon abruptly stopped. He stopped beside him and followed his gaze to a large building that had kids filing into it.

“This is it?” Killua stuck his hands in his pocket as he took in the scene. He glanced over to Gon and frowned when he saw how...hesitant he looked. Like he really didn’t want to approach it any further than this. He gripped the straps of his bag tightly before giving a small nod.

“Yeah. This is it.” Gon mumbled in response to his boyfriend. He looked to said boy nervously, feeling unsure about everything. “I can’t stop thinking about what would happen if something goes wrong.”

“Gon, it’s going to be fine. You want to go over the story again?” Killua asked, receiving a nod from the other. “Alright, here goes. I’m a friend visiting from abroad and I might be attending this school in the future. I’m with you. Mito did us a huge favor calling this in. Even though I can easily manage it, it’ll be easier to do what I intend to do without having to sneak around.”

“Do what you intend to do?” Gon asked, tilting his head about that. Killua shook his head.

“You don’t need to worry yourself about that little detail.” Killua hummed. Gon didn’t look too sure, but his attention was quickly taken by something else.

“Yo, Freecs!” A sudden voice called out, causing Killua to look in its direction. It was a group of boys being led by one obnoxious looking asshole. Killua narrowed his eyes to slits as he kept talking. “Who is that? Your boyfriend?” They all laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Gon stepped back instinctively, looking down to the ground.

“Such a loser! Look at him!” One of the other boys laughed out. Such mindless bullying just astounded Killua. Why would anyone bully someone like Gon? He simply didn’t deserve it.

“It’s always hilarious to watch him worm his way through the halls!” Another one called out. They all laughed like Gon was just a sad display.

He was definitely going to make sure he got what was coming with them. 

“We’ll be seeing you later, Freecs!” The leader pointed at Gon before he and his gang of boys headed toward the school building. Silence hung over the pair before Gon shakily spoke up.

“Sorry.” He apologized, catching Killua by surprise.

“Sorry? What are you saying sorry for?” Killua asked him softly. Gon looked away.

“...They called you my boyfriend.” Gon mumbled weakly. Killua frowned deeply at how he sounded and the fact that he thought he had to apologize for something like this.

“Hey. Look at me.” Killua told him. It took a moment, but Gon looked back at him. “You don’t need to be sorry for that. It’s not something I’m ashamed of. Hell, if people knew that you were my boyfriend, I’d be happy to show you off.” Killua smiled at him. He didn’t miss the small blush that dusted Gon’s cheeks and how he shyly looked away. It was absolutely adorable and he had no idea how he had lived without it for all this time.

“...Really? You’d show me off?” Gon looked back at him slightly, blush still present on his cheeks. 

“Definitely.” Killua confirmed, giving him a warm look. It seemed to lift his spirits, the effect the bullies had on him being eased visibly. “Come on, we should probably get in the building.”

Gon sighed before giving a nod, heading over to the school building with his boyfriend. Killua gave a quiet whistle as he saw all the kids in the building. Yeah, Whale Island definitely got more kids while he and Gon were doing their adventuring. When Gon was walking in the hallway, Killua could notice many kids give him fleeting, unsure glances before going back to not talking to him. There was definitely talk about him as he moved past everyone, but none of them said anything straight to him save for maybe a jerk here and there. Killua looked forward and noticed the boys from earlier moving toward one of the staircases, laughing obnoxiously. He felt the anger bubbling up again.

“Hey, Gon. Where’s your locker?” Killua stopped to ask his boyfriend. Gon turned to look at him, giving a small blink of confusion.

“Huh? It’s on the third floor next to the water fountain. Why?” Gon asked in return with a small head tilt.

“Noted. I’ll meet you up there in a second.” Killua told him. At Gon’s worried look, he gave his hand a subtle, quick reassuring squeeze. “It’ll be okay. I promise. I just gotta do something real quick.”

Gon looked hesitant, but he trusted his boyfriend. He gave a nod before heading off to go to his locker. Since all of these kids were pretty average, it wasn’t hard for Killua to weave past the crowd to head after the bullies when he masked his presence. He momentarily wondered if Gon could sense him still without his Nen, but he let the thought fade away when he saw the group of bullies laughing it up while facing a window. Probably laughing at some kids they saw done below. He wasted no time in sneaking up behind them. No one seemed to notice he was there. Time to see if he still had it. 

“Stop.” He said darkly and coolly at the same time, directing all of his malicious intent at them. He could tell it worked by the way they froze and shivered in fear. Excellent. “Don’t turn around. Or  _ else. _ ”

“W-What do you want?!” The leader tried to talk back to him. Killua narrowed his eyes and intensified his malice on him, causing him to let out a small yelp.

“I don’t recall saying you could speak.” He chastised in a creepily monotone voice. “I’m going to cut to the chase. You’re going to stop bullying Gon from this very moment on. If you laugh at Gon, I will end you. If you look or speak to Gon to treat him badly, I will end you. If you much as  _ breathe  _ in Gon’s direction with  _ any _ hint of laughter in your voice, I will end you. If all of you understand, I want you to slowly grab the windowsill.” He instructed. Slowly, they all grabbed. “Glad we’re in agreeance. You’d better pray you don’t hear from me again.”

And with that, he was around the corner heading off to Gon’s locker. Yeah, he assumed that would do the trick. If not, he could always follow up on his promise. He hadn’t really meant to threaten them so intensely, but he let himself get carried away in the heat of the moment. Though, maybe that had been for the best. He found where Gon’s locker was without too much trouble. The raven-haired boy was just finishing getting the books he needed for class before he noticed his boyfriend.

“Oh, Killua!” He greeted as he walked up to him. “Did you finish everything you needed to do?”

“I did, yeah.” Killua hummed, giving a small smirk. “I trust no one gave you any trouble?” 

“No, no one did. Then again, not many people directly make fun of me.” Gon thought for a moment. “They just whisper among themselves and it makes me feel really uncomfortable. The main ones who mess with me are-” Gon stopped short at something behind Killua.

Killua looked over his shoulder to see the bullies from before. They were all nervously silent as they walked through the halls. The leader got one look at Gon and said boy was expecting the worst before the bully donned an absolutely terrified face before fleeing along with his whole group.

Assholes.

“Did...they just run?” Gon asked slowly, being absolutely taken aback by the sudden change in behavior. Killua gave a nod and a grin.

“They sure did. I don’t think they’ll be messing with you again. If they do, let me know.” Killua instructed him. Gon took a moment to connect the dots before looking at his boyfriend with wide eyes.

“You did this? For me?” Gon sounded pretty surprised. Killua nodded again. The boy started tearing up slightly, overcome with emotion. “I love you so much.” He suddenly declared. Killua sputtered, turning red in the face.

“I-Idiot, don’t say that so suddenly!” Killua hissed in embarrassment, causing Gon to laugh. “...I love you too. So much.” The sudden emotion in his voice caught Gon off guard and this time he did let a few tears slip right then and there. It took all of Killua’s being to not jump the boy and capture his lips, but he’d have to wait until they got home for that.

“I have to go to class.” Gon whined slightly, feeling the same way Killua was. Killua sighed, not wanting the moment to end either.

“Yeah, I guess. I’ll go with you since we got the go-ahead.” Killua told him. Gon looked relieved and Killua tilted his head.

“I just thought you...might go home after you walked me here.” Gon admitted. Killua gave a small smile.

“Idiot, why would we get Mito to help us with this if that was the case? I’m staying right with you.” Killua told him gently. Gon smiled softly before nodding. “Now, let’s get going before you’re  _ really _ late.”

Gon seemed to agree with that because he realized the time and quickly led the way to the class he had at the current time. They walked in just in time and the teacher addressed Killua just as Mito had described him. She allowed Killua to sit next to Gon in the back, much to Gon’s relief. It also allowed Killua to quietly assist Gon whenever he got stuck on a particular part of a classwork assignment. Killua’s presence in the school was going smoothly ever since he dealt with the bullies.

“So, having a good day so far?” Killua asked Gon as he came back from purchasing some items in the cafeteria. Killua had convinced him to have a little something since it’d be a bit before dinner time.

“You being here makes this so much easier.” Gon breathed out, feeling great comfort in his boyfriend’s presence. Killua chuckled slightly as Gon sat down. He held out a bag of chocolate. “You still love this, right?”

The way Killua’s eyes lit up while he took the bag graciously from Gon’s hand before tearing into it answered his question well enough. He hadn’t chocolate in a couple of days and he had been craving it. Gon promised they could grab some later, much to Killua’s liking. They spent a couple of minutes of the lunch period talking before Gon groaned. 

“What is it?” Killua asked him as he took a sip of the juice Gon had brought for them.

“I don’t feel like going home to do homework.” Gon mumbled. Killua hummed in understanding before sitting up.

“You have your books now, right? Let’s do it here.” Killua suggested. Gon seemed to contemplate it.

“I’m not sure if I want to do it right now either…” Gon sighed a little. Killua rolled his eyes slightly.

“Oh, come on. We can just do it now. Plus, if we get it out of the way, it gives more time for other things.” Killua smirked slightly. Gon blushed lightly, but it didn’t stop him from taking out his things to do homework and getting through his assignments.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and Gon had been able to get through it at his boyfriend’s side. They were at Gon’s locker at the end of the day when they heard some girls talking about something quite animatedly. Killua couldn’t help but overhear it.

“I’m SO ready for the dance to happen! I have an amazing date to go with!” One girl bragged lightly. The other girls seemed excited for her.

“I have a date too! We should all go together!” Another one of them said. 

“It’s going to be so great! I wanna be the queen!” A third girl squealed. Killua was honestly getting more and more annoyed by them by the second. And Gon had to deal with this everyday? His patience must know no bounds if he didn’t just shout at them to shut the hell up.

“A dance, huh?” Killua sighed, a bit annoyed. Gon was standing still, looking at the ground. Killua looked at him when he got no response. “Gon? What’s the matter?”

“The dance...I-” Gon started before he was cut off by another girl approaching him.

“Gon.” She suddenly interrupted said boy in the middle of his sentence. Gon, caught off guard, had taken a step back toward Killua. 

“Oh. Hi, Isabella.” Gon sheepishly greeted in return. Killua raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering who this girl was.

“Is this your boyfriend? You guys must have something if you turned me down.” She narrowed her eyes. Ah, the girl Gon rejected when she asked to go out with him. Killua narrowed his eyes at her in return. “Then again, that might be a stretch because why would someone like him go out with someone like you? You’re obviously not in his league. Right?” She turned to look behind her, seemingly trying to get more people to agree with her.

Killua was honestly about to curse her out before he followed her gaze. She was apparently talking to the group of bullies he’d taught their place at the beginning of the school day. Once they were brought into the equation, they quickly averted their eyes and evacuated the school building. Isabella, obviously a bit shocked, turned back to Gon and Killua awkwardly. She sort of gave a huff full of attitude before stomping off, upset her little confrontation didn’t go as she intended. Killua smirked slightly at her failure before turning back to Gon.

“That’s the second time today. I guess whatever you did was really effective.” Gon observed quietly. Killua nodded with a shrug and gestured for them to start walking on the way home. They made it out of the school building before Killua spoke again.

“Anyway, what were you saying?” Killua brought up, reminding Gon he had been interrupted.

“Well, I…” Gon trailed off momentarily before taking a deep breath. “I actually wanted to go to the school dance at the beginning of the year.”

“You did? Were you going to go before everything happened?” Killua asked him gently. Gon shrugged slightly.

“I’m not sure.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Killua raised an eyebrow in slight confusion.

“Then what was holding you back?” Killua questioned, causing his boyfriend to blush and look to the side.

“...I wanted to see if there was some way I could go with you.” Gon whispered. Oh. Killua was not ready for that. And he felt small guilt creeping up for ignoring Gon yet again, but he pushed it down, deciding it wasn’t the time for it.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized right off the bat. “But, I’m here now. So…”

Killua hadn’t even been expecting himself to say what he said. He didn’t even like dances, so he had no idea where he came up with the thought to even mention going. But, the way Gon’s face lit up in response immediately made him think it was worth it and he didn’t regret anything in the slightest. 

“Do you mean it? You’ll...you’ll go with me?” Gon sounded hopeful and there was no way Killua couldn’t follow up now.

“Of course I will. If you want to go, then I’ll take you. I haven’t been to many, but I’ll be sure to do my best for you.” Killua replied swiftly. Gon looked like he was going to cry and crushed Killua in a hug. Killua returned the hug without any hesitation. Apparently, he was going to a school dance now. He wouldn’t have thought that this was a plan for his visit to Whale Island, but he’d do anything for Gon.

“Now, let’s go home.” Killua said, pulling away from the hug enough to look at Gon in the eyes. “I wanna cuddle your face off.”

“I never thought you’d be the affectionate type.” Gon smiled softly. Killua shrugged. 

“I’m not. But, it’s you, so it’s an exception.” Killua said matter-of-factly.

Gon only laughed softly before they parted from their hug to continue walking. Hesitantly, Gon reached over and grasped Killua’s hand in his own. Killua was a tiny bit surprised, but not at all displeased as he gave Gon’s hand a squeeze in return, letting him know he was okay with it. Gon seemed quite pleased that he was able to simply hold hands with him. It made Killua’s heart flutter.

They walked all the way home with their hands intertwined.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sorta late chapter. I had a shitty week and it took a bit for me to get this chapter out. That being said, I don't know if it's up to par with the other chapters, but I did my best and I hope you enjoy it anyway. If you wanna yell at me about it, just follow me on Tumblr @kansxy because I see the messages I get there along with reviews. Well, that's about it. Here's the chapter.

“Geez, Miss Mito really was excited, huh?” Killua sighed, flopping onto Gon’s bed once they finally managed to retreat to Gon’s room. The lady had been talking their ears off about how the school day went and once she caught even the slightest wind about the dance, they thought they’d be sleeping down there.

“Heh, yeah, I know. She’s probably glad I’m doing something again.” Gon said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head as he sat down. Killua looked at him for a moment before he sat up.

“I’m glad too.” Killua began, causing Gon to look at him. “I’m glad you’re giving it a chance. Giving me a chance. I don’t know how dances work exactly, but I’m glad we get to go experience it together.” His voice was yet again dripping with affection he didn’t know he had in him.

It was a sudden little spiel he didn’t really mean to say in the moment, but it got a cute blush out of Gon, so he figured it was worth it. It also got him tackled and doted on and that was always a plus. They spent a bit of time kissing before they settled in and just relaxed in each other’s arms. Gon was definitely glad he got his homework out of the way at lunch as Killua suggested. It wasn’t too long before Killua noticed Gon’s breathing even out.

“Gon?” Killua whispered quietly, not wanting to wake to the boy if he was truly asleep. Gon didn’t reply, already far gone. Killua just chuckled before he gave a kiss to Gon’s head. He pulled out his phone to keep himself occupied. He blinked in surprise when he saw the time. When had it gotten that late? He could’ve sworn they got home from school not too long ago. Well, whatever.

It didn’t seem Killua was sleeping for a while with everything going through his mind. He was really going to a dance for the first time in his life with the boy he loved most in the world. If this turned out to be a dream, he wouldn’t be surprised. He sighed, scrolling through his phone with a small smile on his face. It was getting late and he needed to go to sleep with Gon in order to be ready for school tomorrow. Plus, they had to get some things for the dance. But, before that, he opened his messaging app.

**April 17**

**chocoroboi: sup.**

**Kurapika: Hello again.**

**old man: Took you long enough**

**chocoroboi: hey, i replied this time, right?**

**old man: Yeah yeah**

**Kurapika: How is everything with Gon?**

**chocoroboi: we’re going to a school dance.**

**old man: A dance???**

**chocoroboi: a dance.**

**Kurapika: I’m not trying to come off as rude, but why?**

**chocoroboi: gon wanted to go.**

**chocoroboi: and since i’m finally here, i figured i’d take him.**

**Kurapika: So, you’re taking him to a school dance to help him feel better? **

**Kurapika: That sounds like a nice idea. **

**Kurapika: A first date should be sure to raise his spirits if it goes well.**

**chocoroboi: first date???**

**Kurapika: I’m sorry, is that not what was happening?**

**Kurapika: I didn’t mean to assume or anything.**

**old man: You finally had the balls to do it?**

**chocoroboi: balls to do what?**

**old man: Tell Gon you’re totally in love with him**

**chocoroboi: i don’t know what you’re talking about.**

**old man: Oh, come on**

**old man: You’re totally obvious**

**old man: With the way you act around him?**

**old man: You’re totally whipped**

**chocoroboi: lies. blasphemy. **

**chocoroboi: kurapika?**

**Kurapika: I abstain.**

**chocoroboi: wow. the betrayal.**

**old man: So, you’re taking Gon to a dance**

**old man: Let us know how it goes as soon as possible**

**Kurapika: When is it?**

**chocoroboi: towards the end of the week.**

**old man: Make sure to show him a good time**

**chocoroboi: i’m planning to.**

**Kurapika: Have you ever been to a dance?**

**chocoroboi: nope.**

**old man: WHAT**

**old man: And now you’re going to one**

**old man: Alright, I’ll give you some pointers**

**chocoroboi: oh, man, would you look at the time.**

**chocoroboi: i really gotta get to sleep to go to school with gon tomorrow.**

**chocoroboi: such a shame.**

**chocoroboi: later.**

**old man: Hey, get back here!**

Man, messing with that old man never got old. Killua chuckled as he plugged his phone up along with Gon’s since the boy had forgotten to do so before he passed out. He probably did need to get to sleep in all seriousness, but he wanted something to drink beforehand. He slowly parted from Gon so he would rouse from his slumber before quietly slipping out of the room. He headed downstairs to get a glass of water.

The house was quiet, but not the eerie quiet he might experience in his own home. It was the type of quiet that seemed peaceful and sort of otherworldly. Being awake at this hour certainly did have that effect sometimes, but this was something on a whole new level. But, he didn’t have any problem with it and felt quite comfortable in the silence. He filled a glass with some water and began gulping it down, eager to get back to Gon so he could cuddle him until he fell asleep. Just as he was about to finish up, he sensed someone enter the kitchen before they spoke.

“You’re still up, Killua? Everything was so quiet, so I thought you and Gon were asleep.” Mito commented as she entered the kitchen. He turned to look back at her and gave a slight shrug.

“I kinda don’t fall asleep too fast sometimes.” He replied to her as he returned his glass.

She gave a hum and they shared a moment of silence in the kitchen as Killua finished up. She had taken a seat at the table by the time he had finished and he was going to leave the kitchen before she spoke up again.

“Come take a seat with me for a moment.” Mito requested before he could go back upstairs. For whatever reason, that made him more nervous than it should’ve. He gave a slow nod before he went to go sit down across from her at the table.

“What’s up?” He asked, trying to push down the random anxiety he was randomly experiencing. She gave another hum before smiling warmly, effectively easing him some.

“I just wanted to take this chance to thank you for what you’ve done for Gon so far. I know everything isn’t fixed all the way, but I couldn’t even remember the last time he’d eaten with us before you got here. It’s been great having you back here again. I can’t thank you enough.” Mito’s voice got watery as she spoke, but she kept her composure. Killua felt the emotion behind the statement hit him like a truck and the impact almost brought him to tears too.

“I’m glad to be here. I’m gonna do whatever I can to stay by Gon’s side and support him.” Killua replied, sincerity dripping from his tone. Mito seemed to appreciate it as she gave a nod.

“I’m glad to hear that.” She said gratefully, feeling relieved knowing Gon had a sure support system. It was a moment of peaceful silence before she donned a teasing smirk. “So, since you guys are going to the dance together, that really does mean you two finally confessed to each other?” She giggled slightly. Killua felt like he damn near died from being blindsided by this question. Hearing this from his friends was one thing, but from Mito? He was left absolutely speechless for a couple of seconds.

“...H-Huh?” He sputtered dumbly, which caused her to laugh even more. 

“I’m just teasing. But, it is quite obvious, you know.” She pointed out, much similar to Leorio and Kurapika. “That and I’ve been able to see how you two act around each other now. Gon looks like he’s about ready to grab your hand or cling onto you every time I see you two now.”

“S-So…” Killua gulped slightly, turning more and more red from embarrassment by the second. “If you knew...why didn’t you say anything until now?”

“Gon probably thinks I don’t know. So, I’m waiting for him to tell me on his own if he wants to.” She gave a small shrug casually. 

“You don’t think he’s gonna want to?” Killua questioned quietly, worrying slightly about Gon’s wishes towards the matter. She held up a hand.

“There may be some things that he’d want to not tell me, but I’m sure he’d want to tell me that he’s going out with the boy he’s loved for the longest.” Mito assured. Killua sputtered slightly, but regained his composure.

“So...what’s stopping him then?” He asked as a follow-up. Mito gave him a deadpanned look. “...What?”

“He wants to know how you’d feel about it.” Mito told him. Killua blinked in surprise, not having expected that. He frowned, thinking Gon might still be feeling like Killua would be ashamed to call him his boyfriend. He shook his head.

“I’m totally okay with it and he can tell whoever he wants to.” Killua replied without hesitation, knowing he needed to assure the boy once he woke up for school. Mito chuckled at his little decision.

“Well, you need to tell him then. Then again, I already know, so I’ll just be waiting for him to tell me. Just so you know, you already have my blessing for his hand.” Mito teased again. Killua flushed.

“...Thank you.” He said quietly despite his embarrassment. Mito smiled before giving a glance at the clock on the kitchen counter.

“It’s getting really late now. Go ahead and get to bed. You’re going to school with Gon again tomorrow, right?” She told him, gesturing for him to get going. Killua blinked, processing how long they’d been sitting here talking. He got up and stretched.

“Yeah, I am. Thanks again for covering for me because I was going with him whether they liked it or not.” Killua told her, giving a small smile.

“I like that dedication. Gon’s in good hands.” Mito smiled in return.

Killua walked upstairs after saying goodnight to Mito and crept back into Gon’s room silently. He slid into the bed and wrapped the sleeping boy in an embrace to get comfortable. Even in his slumber, Gon nuzzled close to him. Killua smiled, feeling warm before he closed his eyes. He found sleep came to him faster than expected and he was soon out like a light.

* * *

“You can tell her you know.” Killua told Gon, said boy peering out of his shirt at him as he was putting it on.

“Huh?” He asked, finishing putting on his clothes once Killua gestured for him to. 

“You can tell Mito that we’re dating. If you want.” Killua granted. Gon looked to be surprised before he looked down in thought.

“...You think I should?” He asked quietly. Killua got up and walked over to him, making him look up at him.

“I already told I’d happily claim you no matter what.” Killua whispered gently. “You can let her know, I promise.”

Gon seemed relieved at being given permission. Seems Mito was right when she said this had been on his mind for some time. He was glad he addressed it before it got too out of hand. Gon got ready faster this time without the nervous pacing and uncertainty, so they had ample time to spare before school started. They walked downstairs and Gon grabbed his hand, looking like he was ready for a battle. Killua, since he knew Mito already figured it out and was supportive, found it to be cute.

“Good morning, boys. Want some breakfast before you go to school?” Mito asked from the kitchen, in the process of making some food. Killua realized he was pretty hungry since they’d retreated to Gon’s room pretty early in the previous day. 

“Yeah, we’ll take some. Thanks, Miss Mito.” Killua said gratefully, feeling the pit that was stomach in full effect. Gon gave a hum in agreement before taking a deep breath.

“Mito.” Gon started seriously, causing Mito to look at him over her shoulder. He was giving her a determined state. “...Killua and I are dating.”

There was silence for a moment before Mito simply walked over and hugged the boy. Gon relaxed at seeing her positive reaction. Killua gave a chuckle and watched the heart-warming scene before he was pulled into the hug by both of them. He should’ve expected something like this, he thought, but showed no resistance. 

“I’ll always love you no matter what, Gon. I wouldn’t want you to be anything other than yourself. I’m glad you told me.” She said lovingly. Gon hummed happily as he gave her a squeeze. She gave Killua a squeeze with her other arm. “That goes for you too, you know.” She told him in the same tone. Killua gave a silent intake of breath. He definitely wasn’t used to such a pure and heartfelt show of appreciation from a mother figure and he had to gulp down his emotions.

“Thank you.” He mumbled quietly, Mito seeming to read him well enough by her hum.

They parted from the hug and Mito finished her cooking. Killua didn’t know how he managed to go so long without her cooking when he was traveling. Sure, he’d had food from top chefs from all around, but there was something about Mito’s cooking that made it better than all the rest. He was full and satisfied before he and Gon said bye and left out for school.

They still had a little time to spare, so they took the time to walk to school instead of the mad dash they had to do the day before. Gon even took the time to stop by a candy store and get Killua the chocolate he promised him.

“You think it’ll be different today?” Gon asked him absentmindedly as they walked.

“Hm?” Killua hummed whilst he stuffed his face with some of the chocolate. Gon turned to look at him, giving a small laugh.

“You think, now that they won’t be bothering me anymore, that it’ll be more...quiet?” Gon finished his thought.

“I’m sure it will be. And if there’s any noise, it’ll promptly be silenced.” Killua huffed slightly. Gon smiled slightly, reaching out and giving his boyfriend’s hand a squeeze.

“Thank you.” Gon thanked quickly before he stole a quick kiss from the other. Killua flushed slightly and silently cursed the fact they were in public and that it couldn’t have been longer.

“Anything for you, Gon.” Killua replied nonchalantly, but with a smile of his own.

They entered the school and headed for Gon’s locker before going to his first period. They had no interruptions and lunchtime came fairly smoothly. They went about their usual routine of getting Gon’s homework out of the way before they got home. In the middle of it, a boy nervously making his way toward the table caught their attention.

“Yeah?” Killua questioned, making the boy stop in his tracks for a moment. He was ready to put someone else in their place.

“W-Well, um… I just wanted to say that…” He trailed off momentarily, causing Gon and Killua to both raise an eyebrow slightly. “I just want to say that I support you!” He finished quickly. Gon and Killua blinked in surprise, staying quiet for a moment.

“...Support me in what?” Gon asked quietly. The boy seemed to process that he didn’t make himself clear.

“E-Erm...if you and this boy are...you know.” He seemed embarrassed to finish his thought, but Killua and Gon were able to pick up on it easily enough. Gon seemed shy and Killua remained slightly defensive.

“And why didn’t you tell him this earlier?” Killua hissed slightly, causing him to flinch. 

“I-I’m sorry, I promise I wanted to! But, the bullies always threaten anyone who do things they don’t like. Anyone seen talking to Gon always got in trouble for it with them…” He apologized, giving a small bow.

“...I’m sorry you had to deal with them because of me.” Gon told him, feeling a little guilty for causing other people trouble because him merely being there. It only made Killua gladder that he scared them shitless. “But, thank you. Really.” He thanked genuinely. 

The boy seemed to be eased by Gon being friendly about it. He gave the boy a smile before rushing off again. Killua didn’t know what that was all about, but if it was the beginning of Gon finally being treated right, then he was all for it. His boyfriend squeezed his hand under the table and Killua was happy to see Gon looking so uplifted from someone’s comment. Maybe their school days were starting to look up.

* * *

Killua sat and watched Mito and Gon go about a store, looking for suits. He didn’t know how their day led to this, but here they were. He supposed it would be appropriate to buy something for the occasion, though, so he figured he might as well pick something nice. He got up and began strolling the store. 

There wasn’t anything that really resonated with him until he found the one. It was a dark blue color that he could match with some black shoes and a black tie along with a normal dress shirt. He thought it was perfect and didn’t see any better options, so he grabbed it to buy. He definitely had the money for it, so he could buy Gon’s too.

“How’s it going with the search?” Mito asked, approaching Killua alone. She eyed the suit he chose. “Oh, this would look really nice on you!” She held it up to get a closer look. He smiled softly.

“Thanks. I thought so too.” He hummed, feeling reassured about his choice. “Did Gon find out something yet? I know he wanted to wait until the night of to see each other.”

“Well, he did find something. Let’s just say it’s very...Gon.” Mito finished. Killua deadpanned.

“It’s green, isn’t it?” Killua guessed. Mito held her hands up.

“You’ll have to find out on dance night.” She dodged the question. Killua just chuckled, shaking his head.

“Alright, that’s fair. So, he’s ready? I can pay for the suits.” Killua told her. Mito blinked in surprise, but remembered Killua wasn’t any ordinary boy.

“I’ll let you treat your boyfriend, I suppose.” Mito relented with a small laugh. Killua blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head.

They walked up to the front of the store, Gon being adamant about not seeing Killua’s suit and vice versa and Killua paid for it. Mito was so excited and got a picture of them before they left the store. Holding a suit in his hand made the entire thing much more real to him. He was really going to his dance. Subtle worries began setting in, but he powered through them by listening to the boy go on about the dance as they made their way home. They’ll be alright and have a good night no matter what.

He’d make sure of it.

* * *

**April 18**

**imbaby: Hey, brother!**

**chocoroboi: oh, hey, sis.**

**imbaby: You haven’t talked to me in a while!**

**chocoroboi: yeah, sorry about that. **

**chocoroboi: i was going to, i promise.**

**imbaby: I believe you, brother.**

**imbaby: How are things going with Gon? Is he feeling better?**

**chocoroboi: i would say so, yeah. **

**chocoroboi: but, we’ll see how he feels after this school dance.**

**imbaby: You’re taking him to a dance? Sounds fun!**

**chocoroboi: yeah, i’m gonna do my best to make it up to him.**

**imbaby: Aw, that sounds sappy. You realize your feelings yet?**

**chocoroboi: oh, would you look at that? it’s getting late.**

**chocoroboi: it’s time for bed and my boyfriend is calling for me.**

**chocoroboi: gotta go, sis.**

**chocoroboi: i’ll message you later.**

**imbaby: Your ** ** _WHAT?_ **

**chocoroboi: ;)**

**imbaby: Don’t just winky face at me and leave!**

**imbaby: I know you didn’t just leave me on read.**

**imbaby: Get back here!**

**imbaby: Brother?!**

**imbaby: BROTHER!!!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Leave comments and kudos if it's not too much trouble.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I've been feeling really low for a while and it's made it hard to get things done. But, we're not here for any of my sob stories.
> 
> More importantly, I think the next chapter may be the last? If not, it'll be the next one. It's not because of what I mentioned just now or anything like that, but I had been planning on ending the story right there since the beginning and I've come to realize from past works I've done that prolonging a story usually makes things worse. So, just be prepared for that. I hope this chapter suffices despite everything.

Killua adjusted his tie in Gon’s mirror for what was probably the hundredth time in the last five minutes. It wasn’t like it was his first time wearing a suit, but it might as well have been. Nothing looked right or perfect enough for taking Gon to the dance. He sighed, staring at his tie in slight defeat. Gon had been in Mito’s room getting ready himself because they were supposed to see each other for the first time when they were ready.

The day of the dance had come all too soon, yet all too slow at the same time. He thought he’d have more time to get himself together, but here he was. He, Killua Zoldyck, was actually sitting here freaking out about how he looked before taking his boyfriend to the dance. If you would have told him he’d be in this situation a year ago, he’d laugh and call you crazy. He sighed, almost ruffling his hair in frustration, but he held himself back since he didn’t want his hair to be too unruly before they went to the dance.

He had tried to tidy his hair up a smidge, but Mito had seen him doing so and insisted he keep it normal. He decided to take her word for it and just focus on his suit. He figured he wasn’t going to make himself look any better and gave himself one more once over in the mirror. Sure, he looked nice and presentable, but was it enough for  _ Gon? _ Before he could contemplate it too heavily, a knock resounded through the room, breaking him out of his thoughts. He turned towards the door.

“Come in.” He told whoever it was, the door opening to reveal Mito. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw that it wasn’t Gon. 

“Feeling nervous?” Mito asked, smirking as she saw the boy visibly relax. Killua scoffed, looking to the side.

“Me? Nervous? Of course not!” He replied back as confidently as he could. He glanced back at her only to see her raised eyebrow. “...Okay, maybe a little...or a lot.” He groaned, facepalming. She only laughed and walked over, making sure his suit was all set.

“You look amazing, dear. Gon is sure to love it.” She assured him. It eased his nerves some to have her approve of his appearance.

“Thank you, Miss Mito.” He breathed out a sigh of relief. She chuckled, giving him a gentle pat on the head as she stood up straight. 

“Of course. You seem to be ready. Would you like me to go and let Gon know?” She asked, giving a smile. Killua blushed slightly at the idea of seeing Gon in his suit. Sure, he’d seen the boy in a suit before and felt a flutter, but this was something on an entirely new level. He couldn’t even be sure if he was ready for it. But, at the same time, he was all too eager.

“Yeah, you can, if you don’t mind.” Killua nodded, deciding he was as ready as he was going to get. Mito smiled, giving him a thumbs-up before leaving the room. 

He nervously tapped his foot, not knowing how to properly get his nervous energy out. Maybe he’d distract himself with his phone. Yeah, maybe that’d help. As soon as he pulled out his phone, he got a text message and groaned.   
  


**April 21**

**Kurapika: So, it’s dance night, correct?**

**old man: Feeling nervous?**

**chocoroboi: fuck you both.**

**Kurapika: We’re just trying to see how you’re holding up.**

**Kurapika: This is your first dance, so it’s understandable if you’re nervous.**

**chocoroboi: i’m not nervous!**

**old man: I wish I was there so I could laugh at your obvious lies right to your face**

**chocoroboi: keep going and i’ll make sure you don’t even make it three steps on whale island, old man.**

**old man: Calm down, I’m just joking**

**Kurapika: In all seriousness, though, I’m sure it’ll go great.**

**Kurapika: Gon seems like the type to be satisfied with just being there with you.**

**chocoroboi: god, i hope you’re right.**

**Kurapika: You’re worrying yourself for nothing. **

**Kurapika: It’ll be fine.**

**old man: Yeah, stop stressing yourself out for nothing**

**old man: You’re just imagining the worst-case scenario that has, like, no chance of happening**

**chocoroboi: any chance is too much.**

**Kurapika: Just relax and take a deep breath.**

**Kurapika: Freaking out only makes things harder to manage.**

Killua decided to take a moment to follow Kurapika’s advice. He stopped and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. It’ll be fine. He was going to show Gon a good time even if it killed him. The boy deserved at least that much. He felt himself loosen up some, most of his anxiety being replaced with determination. He smiled to himself as he looked back down at his phone when it buzzed.

**Kurapika: Did it work?**

**chocoroboi: yeah, it did.**

**Kurapika: Glad to hear it. You’ll do great.**

**old man: Yeah, knock ‘em dead**

**chocoroboi: thank you for the advice, ** ** _kurapika._ **

**old man: You’re such a little shit**

**old man: I don’t even know why I tried to help you**

**chocoroboi: ;)**

**Kurapika: You two are too much.**

**chocoroboi: seriously, though, thank you. **

**chocoroboi: ** ** _both _ ** **of you.**

**old man: Thank you**

**old man: You’re welcome, asshat**

**chocoroboi: don’t make me take it back.**

**Kurapika: Hope you guys have a good time. Let us know how it goes.**

**Kurapika: Oh, also? You should most likely be expecting us soon.**

**chocoroboi: oh? **

**chocoroboi: you guys finally getting here?**

**Kurapika: Yes, sorry for the delay. We ran into some...trouble.**

**chocoroboi: trouble?**

**old man: Yeah, trouble that’ll never give us any more issues after Kurapika was finished**

**chocoroboi: efficient as always, i see?**

**Kurapika: Of course.**

**Kurapika: Well, you should probably get going, right?**

**chocoroboi: yeah, i gotta go.**

**chocoroboi: later.**

**Kurapika: Until next time.**

**old man: Bye**

Killua put his phone back in his pocket, taking another deep breath. Talking to his friends had been pretty helpful, seeing as he felt significantly calmer. A knock sounded at the door and he figured it was Mito letting him know Gon was ready. He stared ahead for a moment before giving himself a nod, walking out of Gon’s bedroom and heading for Mito’s. He stopped in front of the door, hand freezing right as he was about to open it. He didn’t move for a moment and then shook his head before pushing through. He opened the door and the moment he saw Gon, all of his worries and concerns slipped away.

Gon turned to face him, eyes widening at the sight of his boyfriend. He still had his signature spiky hair, which Killua appreciated. He could see why Mito told him to keep his normal as well. He had on a green suit with a black tie, which caught him off guard even though he had been expecting it. His boyfriend was breaking all of those expectations and Killua could only stand there for a moment as he tried to fathom how much he  _ loved _ this boy and how he lived without him for so many years. A smile came across his face as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“Look at us and these suits, huh? We make quite the pair-Mmph!” Killua turned and was cut off by Gon damn near tackling him in a kiss. Killua caught his bearings before he began kissing the other boy with fervor, grabbing a hold of him and pulling him closer. They continued for a short while before Killua, who had to muster immense self-control to do so, separated them. It earned a whine from Gon and Killua gave a small smile. “We wouldn’t want to leave the house already looking messed up, do we?” He chuckled. Gon only pouted slightly.

“I guess not...but you look so amazing!” Gon whined again. Killua blushed, still not used to the bluntness of Gon’s love, but he gave the boy a chaste kiss anyway.

“And so do you.  _ Really  _ amazing. But, we’ll have more time later.” Killua told him. He held the boy at an arm’s length and looked him over, straightening anything out that got a little messed up. Once he was finished, he stared before giving a small laugh. 

“What’s funny?” Gon blinked, tilting his head. Killua only snickered further.

“Your suit is so green.” Killua laughed out. Gon pouted, about to complain before Killua put a finger to his lips. “It’s so you. Which is why I love it and why you look so amazing.”

Now it was Gon’s turn to blush and Killua felt satisfied to hear the boy make a sound of embarrassment. Killua gave him a loving look as he took the boy’s hand.

“Ready to go?” Killua asked him softly. Gon gave a nod and squeezed his hand in return.

“Ready to go.” He repeated definitively, ready to have a good time with his boyfriend.

Killua gave a gentle nod as he led them out of Mito’s room and to the stairs. When they were descending, though, Mito immediately stopped them and took a bunch of pictures. Killua felt a little weird about the pictures, but decided it was okay because this was a special moment. He definitely had to get those pictures from her. He could send them to his sister and friends if he felt like it at any point.

“You two look very handsome. You two will remember this for a long time, I can tell.” Mito hummed in delight, finishing up her pictures and allowing them a second to breathe. The two boys checked each other once more before they walked towards the door. “Gon!” Mito called out to him before he left, causing him to spin around to face her. She planted a kiss on his forehead, causing him to smile. “I hope you have fun.”

“Thanks, Mito!” Gon thanked gratefully. She looked so happy to hear his voice finally have some of the energy it used to back in it. She turned to Killua, also giving him a kiss on the head and effectively catching him by surprise.

“That goes for you too, dear. Enjoy yourself.” She told him. He blushed palely, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah, I’ll do my best. Thanks.” He thanked. He had to admit that he was growing to appreciate Mito’s motherly presence more and more.

Gon said goodbye once again and then they were off. They traveled to the school hand in hand, talking to each other in an attempt to ease the nervousness both of them felt as they got closer. When they could see the school in the near distance, the lights were lively and they could hear the music from where they were. Killua felt Gon’s grip on his hand tighten.

“Nervous?” Killua questioned, looking over to him. Gon looked back at him with a slight nod. Killua gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, we got this. We won’t let anyone ruin our night.”

Gon seemed to feel better about it after that, smiling a bit and giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Killua reddened a bit, but he gave him one right back, earning a giggle from his boyfriend. They reached the school and entered after taking a moment to collect themselves. When they entered the auditorium where the dance was being held, they were hit with music and everyone having fun amongst themselves. Killua surveyed the area, not knowing exactly what he had expected. It was definitely a bit louder than he had been anticipating. He felt a tug on his arm and looked over to see Gon point at a table.

“I’m gonna go get us some drinks to start off.” He told his boyfriend. Killua gave him a slightly concerned look.

“Are you sure? I can just come with.” Killua offered, all ready to go along with him. Gon shook his head.

“Nah, it’s okay! Plus, I can see you analyzing everything.” Gon laughed slightly. Killua just rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t keep the smile on my face.

“Yeah, yeah, you know I have to. Hurry back, okay?” His tone dropped to concern yet again and Gon just gave him a smile before striding off to go to the snack table.

Killua watched him attentively, ready to step in if someone dared to try his boyfriend tonight. He saw an orange-haired girl approach him and he was all ready to jump into action before he saw Gon react to her in a positive manner. He calmed down slightly, watching them talk to one another for a moment with a raised eyebrow. Who was she? She hadn’t spoken to Gon since Killua had been there and-

“Hey!” A girl’s voice broke Killua out of his thoughts. He turned to see a girl wearing a fancy dress. He was pretty sure she was more on the popular side of everyone, but he couldn’t be too sure since he was mainly focused on Gon while he was here. “I just saw you standing here by yourself and thought you might want to dance with me?”

Ah, she was here for that. Killua gave a quick, subtle once-over. He wasn’t quite sure if she was trying to flirt or not based on her body language and tone, but he wasn’t moved regardless. He had to keep himself from sighing before he responded.

“Sorry, I’m gonna have to pass. Because…” He trailed off as Gon appeared at his side once again, holding two drinks and looking at his boyfriend and the girl in mild confusion. He smiled and took the chance to wrap an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “I’m here with my wonderful boyfriend.” He finished. Gon reddened in surprise, not expecting the conversation topic to have been about that. The girl blinked in surprise.

“Oh!” She started, standing up a little straighter. Killua was ready to go on the defensive before she smiled. “That’s great! I apologize, I didn’t know you two were together!”

“...Really?” Killua responded slowly, admittedly taken aback by her reaction. He was sort of expecting a nasty remark. She laughed slightly, giving a nod.

“Of course! I was just worried that you were feeling left out, so I offered to dance with you! Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to break up such a cute couple!” She giggled. Gon’s blushed deepened slightly and Killua snickered softly from seeing his boyfriend’s adorable expression.

“Glad you think so.” Killua replied for both of them. She gave a hum and nodded before looking at Gon for a moment. She took a moment before she spoke again.

“I’m happy to see you’re doing better, Gon.” She told him simply. Gon’s eyes widened in shock before he had regained his composure.

“Thank you.” Gon mumbled quietly to her, not sure he could trust his voice if he got any louder. She gave him a warm smile before walking off. Killua watched her before he turned to his boyfriend.

“Well, she was nice, huh?” He commented, watching his boyfriend give a silent nod. “I guess after I handled those assholes, people have begun to act better. Were they really that much of a threat?”

“I guess people didn’t want to become an outcast like me by having people talk about them. Can’t blame them too much.” Gon shrugged, not minding. Killua huffed at his boyfriend letting them slide, but didn’t push it much further.

“Anyway, speaking of talking to people, who was that girl you were talking to?” Killua questioned. Gon momentarily looked confused before he realized what the other was talking about.

“Oh! That was Noko! She was my friend before I originally left Whale Island to become a hunter!” Gon informed him. Killua raised an eyebrow.

“Friend? Then why didn’t she ever help then?” Killua asked. Gon frowned a little.

“Turns out she did. Or at least tried to.” Gon answered, rubbing the back of his head. “Apparently, when she tried to defend me, some of her things got ruined by some mean girls. So, I guess she got scared and didn’t really know what to do. I’m glad she just left it alone, though. I wouldn’t want her to face any negative consequences.” He added on, obviously feeling guilty about it. Killua simmered down at the explanation, giving a wince.

“Ouch. Some of these kids are just such assholes and for what?” He grumbled. Gon shrugged before he took a sip of his drink, handing the other to Killua.

It was then Killua remembered that he was holding them this whole time, so he took his and gulped it down fairly quickly. Gon laughed a bit at the display, drinking his more slowly until it was gone. The two boys sat and talked on the sidelines for a bit, enjoying the company of each other. Eventually, though, Gon was intently gazing off to the dance floor and it didn’t take Killua much to connect the dots. He hopped up with a small stretch before holding his hand out to Gon.

“Come on, let’s go dance. You want to, right?” Killua prompted him. Gon blinked as he reddened slightly from his boyfriend reading his mind. He took his hand and stood up with his assistance.

“Are you sure?” Gon questioned shyly, which only earned him a calming smile in response.

“Certain. Now, come on, onto the dance floor.” Killua led them to the floor, getting them in a decent spot. Turns out he had perfect timing because it turned into a slow song. Gon flushed further when he heard it. Killua tilted his head slightly. “What’s the matter?”

“...I don’t know how to slow dance.” Gon mumbled. Killua only stared before he gave a small chuckle.

“You’re adorable. Don’t worry, I’ll lead.” Killua told him, getting him into position. He placed his boyfriend’s hands on his shoulders and then held him by the hips. 

Gon was a little sloppy at first, but Killua didn’t mind if he got his foot stepped once or twice. The boy always apologized profusely every time and Killua always just gave his hips a gentle squeeze to let him know it was fine. Soon enough, Gon began to get the hang of it and he was slow dancing with his boyfriend. He smiled, giving a happy, quiet laugh. It was music to Killua’s ears.

“Where’d you learn how to slow dance like this?” Gon asked, surprised his boyfriend could do it so well without being awkward.

“Part of training to blend in for assassinations.” Killua shrugged and then laughed at the look that crossed his boyfriend’s face. “It’s okay. Looks like it came in handy for something positive, right?” He hummed.

“I’m just glad you’re away from them.” Gon grumbled. Killua just smiled, feeling warm affection take over him.

“And that’s all thanks to you.” He chuckled, watching his boyfriend turn red from his comment. He smiled shyly, looking to the side of him. He went a little rigid and Killua followed his gaze.

It turned out that their dancing had gained the attention of the kids around them. Many were just watching them dance silently, stopping their conversations or looking over their shoulder. Killua shook his head, moving Gon’s head so they made eye contact instead.

“Nope, forget about them.” Killua instructed, not willing to let them ruin anything. 

“But-” Gon started to worry, but Killua gave his face a gentle caress, which quickly left him quiet again.

“It’s okay. Just focus on me.” Killua whispered to him. He got a nod from his boyfriend and gave him a smile.

Gon couldn’t quite block them out entirely, so he put his face into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck. Killua didn’t mind and actually found the action to be rather intimate. He held his boyfriend closer and blocked out everyone else. It was only them on the dance floor in his mind and he forgot about everything else that was in there. Gon’s body lost some tension, so Killua figured he’d calmed down as well. They continued in their magical moment for what seemed an all too short amount of time before the song suddenly changed. It was now an upbeat and fast song that had all the students rushing onto the dance floor. Gon and Killua blinked, stepping apart to stare at each other in the middle of it. They both made a silent agreement to do that again sometime before Killua looked at the kids around us.

“Wanna dance to this?” Killua asked. Gon gave a small shrug. 

“Might as well, right?” Gon smiled some, earning one from Killua as well.

“Let’s do it then.” Killua agreed.

The two boys had fun dancing with each other in a more excitable way. Sure, slow dance had been amazing, but they’re were laughing as they jumped around each other. It felt like back when they played around on their adventures when they had free time between training or battles. It eased both of them and let them remember the good times. Soon enough, though, the music stopped and everyone looked toward the front of the gym.

“Okay, everyone! It’s time to reveal what couple gets the crowns for the dance!” A girl called out, her voice cheery and excited. She got cheers from the crowd and Killua cast a confused glance at Gon.

“At a dance, they give out crowns for the best couple or the couple everyone voted for the most. You know, the king and queen.” Gon explained to him, receiving an understanding hum from the white-haired boy.

“Now, there’s something special happening for the crowns this year! Instead of having a king and a queen, we have two kings!” She exclaimed, surprisingly getting cheers to this statement too. 

“What?” Gon and Killua uttered at the same time, heads whipping around to look at each other before looking around. They were receiving looks and even got some thumbs-up from some kids.

“This isn’t happening, right?” Gon asked his boyfriend in disbelief. The girl began speaking and he almost thought she could hear him.

“The crowns go to…” She drew it out for dramatic effect and the students stomped their feet to replicate drum rolling. “Gon Freecs and his date!” 

“Oh my god, it’s happening.” Killua muttered both in response to his boyfriend and hearing the actual announcement.

Well, this was certainly a turn of events since the beginning of the week. The crowd began cheering them on and pushing them through. Before the two could even really take a moment to take it all in, they were on the stage and crowns were being placed on their heads. 

Killua’s expectations for the night kept getting blown straight out of the water. He never imagined they’d be on stage, being given crowns for being the best couple in the building. Guess those assholes really did sort of run things around the school. Speaking of which, he could see the leader of the bullies in the crowd standing next to the girl who tried to insult Gon a couple of days ago. Apparently, they had gone together and she was appalled to find her date clapping while pointedly not looking at the stage. Killua had to resist the urge to smirk smugly.

Gon stood at a loss for words as he looked out over the crowd of students. The students who used to shun him because of those jerks who always messed with everyone were clapping for him and Killua, genuine smiles on their faces. It could’ve all been a cruel joke, but he had a feeling everything in the moment was real. It felt too good to be true, but when he thought about the greatness that was Killua Zoldyck, everything made sense. He felt an overwhelming swell of affection come over him and he got a little teary-eyed. Killua noticed and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. It got an ‘Awww’ from the crowd, causing both of them to redden slightly. They both smiled, looking at each other with great affection.

* * *

“Man, that dance was really something, huh?” Killua laughed out, his boyfriend laughing along with him.

“Totally! Who would’ve guessed that we’d end up as the kings of the whole thing?” Gon chuckled. “Then again, I should’ve known with my boyfriend being the amazing Killua Zoldyck.”

“Glad to know you think so highly of me.” Killua snickered. “But, you’re the one who made this happen. It’s because you’re so adorable.” He teased, gaining his prize of his blushing boyfriend. He also got a slight shove, but it was worth it.

“You know…” Gon started when he stopped pouting over the teasing. “I don’t really feel like going home yet.”

“Same here.” Killua agreed, thinking momentarily. “How about we go to our usual spot?” He suggested. Gon brightened, all for it as he nodded.

“Last one there loses!” Gon challenged, taking off running. Killua was left sputtering for a moment before he took off after him.

They laughed as they ran, both still having energy to spare. Spontaneous racing was something they often did and now that Gon had his pep back in his step, for the most part, he was able to keep up with Killua way better. That didn’t stop Killua from reaching their spot first, with a panting Gon behind him.

“No fair, I’m outta shape!” Gon complained even though he barely lost. Killua laughed and rolled his eyes.

“I’m sure you’ll get your touch back.” Killua told him. He noticed something somber cross expression for a moment before it disappeared again. He was going to ask about it before Gon continued on.

“Come on, let’s sit!” Gon urged him, pulling him over into a good spot to look at the stars like they did a couple of days ago. The incident was recent, but they felt like they’d come so far in such a short amount of time. The problem wasn’t likely to disappear entirely, but they definitely thought things were better. For both of them.

“The stars look great as usual from right here.” Killua commented as he laid on his back. Gon joined him a moment later, giving a hum of agreement.

They lied together in peaceful silence for a while, just staring up at the night sky and enjoying each other’s company. Eventually, Gon began fidgeting out of nowhere. He was clearly trying to be subtle about it, but it didn’t escape Killua.

“What are you thinking about that has you fidgeting like you that?” Killua questioned his boyfriend, knowing his hit it right on the mark when Gon made a sound like he was caught. 

“...Are you going to leave?” Gon’s voice was barely audible and Killua heard it. He did, though, and it sent him into high alert. 

“I said I was never going to leave you again, Gon.” Killua reminded him of his promise. Gon shook his head.

“I know you’re not going to leave like that, but…” He trailed off before taking a deep breath. “Your place isn’t Whale Island. You’re meant to be out there adventuring and seeing great things around the world with Alluka. You’re not supposed to be cooped up in one place like this-”

“Neither are you.” Killua promptly cut him off. “You’re the best damn adventurer I’ve ever seen and you’re the strongest person I know. I would’ve never made it here if it weren’t for you. So, don’t think you have to be forced to live a life you don’t desire.” He told him seriously. Gon didn’t speak for a moment.

“...So, what’s going to happen? I don’t have my nen. I would die without it if I went out into the world. I’m trapped and this is all that’s left for me. What am I going to do when you have to go back to Alluka and back to adventuring?” Gon mumbled softly, sounding absolutely hopeless for the first time in a couple of days. Killua felt a panic surge through his system and he was speaking before he could even process what he was saying.

“Come with me.” Killua blurted out. Gon sucked in a breath after hearing it and Killua almost didn’t believe it came out of his mouth.

“...What?” Gon whispered weakly. Killua paused momentarily before collecting himself, sitting up to look Gon in the eyes.

“Let’s go on an adventure together again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave comments and kudos, they really do make my day and I read every single one of them. Follow me on Tumblr to yell at me if you want @kansxy or ask for any of my other social media.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this took way too long to finish. Sorry about that. I have no real excuses, but shit's just kinda hard. But, moving on. I think the next chapter may be the last. Like I said before, it's not because of circumstances, it's just where I wanted to end it. I hope this chapter and the next are to your liking.

“You...want me to go on an adventure with you again?” Gon’s tone was quiet, hesitant like he’d heard Killua wrong. Killua gulped. No backing down now.

“Yeah. I do.” He confirmed slowly. He was scanning Gon’s visage and body language in an anxious, critical way. “...Do you want to?” He followed up with after a moment.

Gon didn’t answer right away. He looked down at the ground, seemingly thinking it over. Killua grew more and more nervous, fearing he’d overstepped. He looked down at the ground too, mentally berating himself. Did he really just mess this up? This was supposed to be a perfect night and he had gone and made it awkward. He was about to apologize before he heard a sniffle. His head shot up to see Gon with watery eyes, clutching his pants. He scrambled for a moment, guilt rushing him.

“Hey, Gon, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I do.”

Killua’s words died in his throat. He felt himself staring dumbly at the boy in front of him as he went up and wiped his eyes hard. Gon turned back to his boyfriend, now wearing a serious expression.

“I do want to go with you. I really do. It would make me so happy.” Gon told him, his voice conveying his desire. Killua allowed his hopes to rise. “But…”

Ah. There it was. Killua felt his heart sink as he ran over the worst-case scenarios. Maybe Gon would say something similar to he did all of those months ago? He thought he would be able to do everything right this time. It physically hurt to think about getting it wrong.

“What about Aunt Mito? She’ll be mad that I didn’t finish school.” Gon mumbled. Killua shot his head to look up at his boyfriend, who looked genuinely upset over the matter. Killua almost laughed at how worried he got. This was Gon. He mentally slapped himself back to attention before looking determined.

“I’ll wait for you.” Killua quickly told him. “I’ll wait as long as you need until you finish school.” Gon looked up at him, gripping at his chest.

“...What about Alluka?” He followed up with quietly. Killua momentarily wondered about how his sister might react before he decided to hope for the best. 

“I’ll ask her. I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Killua promised. Gon looked down for a moment, looking unsure about what he was going to say next. Killua reached and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The other took in a shaky breath.

“...What if I’m too weak without my nen?” He whimpered, his voice almost inaudible. Killua wordlessly reached over, tilting Gon’s head so he was looking Killua in the eyes.

“I’ll protect you. No matter what.” Killua promised him. He’d die before he let anyone hurt Gon. He conveyed his conviction through his eyes and the little gasp Gon gave made him think he got through.

Gon’s eyes watered and he pressed his lips into a thin line. He began nodding profusely, causing Killua to smile warmly and wipe the tears away. If he was being honest, he was close to tears himself and it showed in his watering orbs. Gon laughed wetly as he saw it.

“You’re crying too.” He teased weakly. Killua rolled his eyes playfully.

“I’m not crying, idiot.” He huffed in return. Before Gon could come back with a retort, he pushed forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Any reply Gon had died in his throat as he kissed back.

They sat there, just sharing gentle and loving affection for what seemed like a long time. They honestly lost track of it and realized they needed to be getting home once it got darker. They reluctantly left their spot and walked back to the house, hand in hand. Killua could tell Gon was getting tense as they got closer to their destination.

“What’s the matter?” Killua questioned, squeezing his hand. Gon looked to him.

“I...think I’m gonna talk to Aunt Mito about leaving.” Gon told him slowly. Killua could suddenly understand why he was feeling anxious.

“Do you need me to come too?” Killua offered, not wanting him to face it alone. Gon seemed to think about it for a moment.

“You can go get out of your suit. Though, I’m not sure how she’ll react.” Gon admitted. Killua looked unsure, but Gon gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be okay. Go on ahead.”

Killua had half a mind to just go anyway, but if his boyfriend wanted to handle it himself, he’d have to let him. He gave a little nod and gave his hand a squeeze before they let go. They entered the house, quickly alerting Mito.

“Boys? Are you back? Hang on, I’m in the kitchen, but I want to hear all about it!” She called out to them. Gon looked at Killua for a moment before going into the kitchen to talk to her. Killua slipped upstairs, hoping for the best as he entered Gon’s room.

He carefully removed his suit and put it to the side. He probably had to wash it since they were running in the wilderness after the dance. He put on a basic t-shirt and shorts before sitting back on the bed.

Killua felt a nervous excitement coursing through his veins as he stared down at his phone. His messaging app was opened and he just sat on the bed, staring at the conversation he had with his sister. What if she said no? What if she got really upset? Would she end up not talking to him? That’d only freak him out with her only being so close to him. He didn’t stray far when he left her with Bisky, but he didn’t want to take chances when it came to her safety. He took a deep breath, assuring himself it would be okay as he began typing.

**April 23**

**chocoroboi: hey, sis.**

**imbaby: Hey, brother!**

**imbaby: How is it going over there? You haven’t sent much!**

**chocoroboi: sorry about that.**

**chocoroboi: i’ve been doing some...thinking.**

**imbaby: Thinking?**

**chocoroboi: ...i have something i want to ask you.**

**imbaby: Of course! What is it?**

**chocoroboi: okay, it’s about gon.**

**imbaby: Is he coming with us?!**

**imbaby: He’s coming with us, right?!**

**chocoroboi: what?!**

**chocoroboi: what made you say that?!**

**imbaby: Am I wrong?**

**chocoroboi: well...i was going to ask if you were okay with it.**

**imbaby: Of course I am! I love Gon! He’s like a brother to me!**

**imbaby: Why wouldn’t I want to travel with my two brothers?**

**chocoroboi: what about the other ones?**

**imbaby: I’ve officially disowned them.**

**chocoroboi: pfft, same.**

**chocoroboi: in all seriousness, though.**

**chocoroboi: you really don’t mind?**

**imbaby: Brother, he makes you happy, right?**

**chocoroboi: extremely.**

**imbaby: Then that’s all there is to it!**

**chocoroboi: thanks, sis.**

**chocoroboi: we’ll talk about it more when you get here.**

**chocoroboi: you’re on the way, right?**

**imbaby: Yep! We’re pretty close to the island!**

**imbaby: We should get there tomorrow at the latest!**

**chocoroboi: got it.**

**chocoroboi: hang on, gon’s coming back.**

**chocoroboi: i’ll talk to you later.**

**imbaby: See you soon!**

Killua set his phone to the side before his boyfriend walked back in. Gon gave him a slightly anxious look.

“She wants to talk to both of us.” Gon informed us. Killua silently gulped in anticipation and the look Gon gave him only told him that he wasn’t alone in the feeling.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Killua got off the bed. Gon led the way downstairs and Killua followed after quietly.

When they were both facing Mito again, she was wearing a serious expression. Killua didn’t know what it really meant, but he just knew he needed Gon with him whatever happened. She didn’t speak for a while and just looked them over a couple of times. The boys didn’t dare say anything. Eventually, she just gave a sigh.

“You two haven’t been together that long and you’re already making plans to go adventuring again.” Mito chuckled quietly, shaking her head. They didn’t speak up yet. She looked up at them, particularly Killua. “Killua.”

“Yes?” He responded fairly quickly, not wanting to upset her in the slightest. She gave him a serious glance.

“Last time Gon was a part of a mission, he was gravely injured. He was lucky to be alive.” She mentioned. Gon winced at the memory, but he was more concerned for his boyfriend. Killua sort of paled at recalling how broken the boy looked when he had to carry him away from Pitou’s body. He never wanted that to happen again. He gave an apologetic bow in response, catching Mito and Gon off guard.

“I’m so sorry. It was my fault. I couldn’t make it in time.” He apologized. Gon was getting ready to tell him that it wasn’t and he shouldn’t blame himself, but he kept going. “I should’ve been there, but he had to deal with his pain alone and that was the result. But, I can promise you, it won’t happen again. I’d give my life before it happens again. I’m never going to let anyone or anything hurt Gon while I’m around.”

His emotional promise evoked silence from the woman. She hadn’t been expecting something so intense. She paused momentarily before she smiled.

“Hey, come on, raise your head.” She told him. Killua listened, standing up straight. His expression only showed how serious he was about keeping his promise. She still didn’t want Gon facing any danger, but she didn’t feel as worried knowing Killua was with him.

“...He’ll have to finish school first.” She told him. Both of the boys brightened up and nodded profusely. She sighed and couldn’t keep her smile off her face. “As long as you’re willing to wait for that, I can’t say no. I give you my blessing. Take care of him, you hear?” 

“I will. With everything I got.” Killua promised. Gon was grinning and it was the happiest he’d been in a long time. Mito was even more convinced after seeing it.

“Yes! Thank you, Mito!” Gon launched forward and grabbed the lady in a hug. She almost got knocked over, but she only laughed and returned the hug.

Killua smiled, watching the two and ignoring the rapid beating of his heart. He was so glad it worked. He didn’t know what might happen if Gon didn’t get permission. Before he could delve too deep into his thoughts, he was pulled into the hug by both Gon and Mito. He felt warmth spread through his body as he let himself give in to the hug. She eventually released them.

“Alright, now go and wash up. You both smell like outside.” She told them. Killua figured she probably already knew they went to their spot after the dance. Gon nodded happily in response.

“Okay! Come on, Killua!” He told his boyfriend before grabbing him by the hand and dragging him up the stairs. Mito gave them a fond look as they disappeared up the stairs, laughing until they reached Gon’s room. 

“It worked! She said yes!” Gon quietly cheered, looking absolutely overjoyed. He didn’t think she was going to let him go after she brought up what happened with Pitou, but his boyfriend saved the day. He smiled at him. “You’re amazing, Killua!”

“It was nothing.” Killua blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. Gon was looking like his old self again and he couldn’t be happier. Gon jumped forward, giving him a passionate kiss. Killua returned it with fervor, always down to kiss his lover. Eventually, they parted and then Gon gave a gentle smile. Killua smiled back at him the same way.

“Well, do you want to take a shower first or me?” Gon asked his boyfriend. Killua gave a hum.

“Let’s just take one together.” He answered. It got a cute blush out of his boyfriend, but Gon didn’t complain.

They both undressed in the bathroom for the shower. Killua began running the water and checking the temperature. He looked over his shoulder and Gon looked to the side, face flushing. Killua only chuckled a bit at his behavior before stepping inside. He gestured for Gon to join him and the boy did after a second. 

They spent some time in the shower together, bathing and sharing gentle affection like washing each other’s backs. They lost didn’t pay attention to the time, but decided to get out when the water started getting cold. They ended up back on Gon’s bed, cuddled up together. Gon yawned, tired from their long day.

“Alluka is supposed to be arriving tomorrow, so we need to go to the port to meet her.” Killua tiredly informed his boyfriend. Gon gave a hum of acknowledgment.

“Got it. Sounds like a plan.” Gon mumbled, burying his face into Killua’s chest. Killua just thought it was adorable. “I’m gonna go to sleep.”

“Yeah, right behind you. I love you.” Killua yawned himself.

“I love you too.” Gon replied quietly before drifting off. True to his word, Killua wasn’t far behind.

* * *

Killua would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little nervous. He hadn’t been apart from his sister this long for a couple of months. He was waiting by the port by himself at the current moment since Gon said he was going to get them something out of the store. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. There wasn't anything for him to be nervous about. Plus, he got to see his teacher again after such a long time. 

“Brother!” A feminine voice called out that he recognized instantly.

He looked up to see Alluka soaring toward him. She actually jumped toward him, so he caught her in a hug, both of the siblings laughing. 

“Hey, sis. How have you been?” He greeted her warmly. She looked up at him with happy eyes.

“Good! Hanging out with Bisky was fun!” She replied cheerfully. He hadn’t forgotten about the whole ‘gay panic’ thing, so he kind of held a grudge. But, he couldn’t be too mad when his sister was standing in front of him all safe and sound.

“Aw, no love for your teacher? How harsh.” Another voice said a in pouting tone. He looked up to see Bisky, giving him a small smirk. He rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Bisky.” He greeted her sarcastically. It didn’t last long as he then gave a smile. “Thank you for keeping my sister safe for the past couple days. I really owe you one.” He said genuinely. She only laughed.

“It’s no problem, kid. Also,” She brought up a fist and knocked Killua over the head, causing him to hiss in pain.

“Ow, what the hell?!” He glared at her. She only glared back.

“Don’t think I forgot about the ‘old hag’ comment.” She huffed. He had actually forgotten about himself, but he supposed he did kind of deserve it. He rubbed at the spot on his head that she’d hit in slight pain. It had been quite a while since he was hit by Bisky.

“Hey, Killua, I got some chocolate for you-” Gon had been walking up to his boyfriend when he saw the two women. “Bisky! Alluka!”

“Gon!” Alluka gasped, charging him with a leap much like she did with Killua. Gon caught her with ease and he spun her around in a hug before setting her down. She gave him a little pout. “We were worried about you, you know!” She huffed, causing Gon to give her an apologetic smile and a pat on the head.

“Sorry about that. I’m fine, I promise.” He assured her. Bisky wrapped an arm around Gon’s neck and went about messing up his hair. He only laughed, not taking it seriously. “Ah, no, my spikes!” He said, holding her arm.

“Nice to see you, kid.” Bisky grinned in response. Killua watched, a tiny bit miffed.

“Why does he get a happy greeting like that and I get hit on the head?” He huffed. Gon only smiled at him as Bisky released him, going over and giving him a kiss on the head and earning a small blush out of him.

“Better?” Gon grinned slightly. Killua just looked to the side for a second.

“...Yeah, better.” He replied. Alluka nearly screamed at the display, causing both of them to look at her as she grabbed at her chest dramatically.

“I knew you guys got together, but it was way cuter than I thought it would be. I wasn’t ready.” She whispered, looking starry-eyed.

“Congratulations, you two. Though, I’m surprised that it only just happened. I figured it would’ve happened sometime around the last time I saw you.” Bisky commented. Both boys felt a little embarrassed by the reactions, but they were glad to have their support. “So, what are we doing? Are we going to stand here all day?” Bisky then questioned.

“Oh! Come to my house to meet my Aunt Mito!” Gon told them, wanting to make introductions. Alluka bounced up at that.

“That sounds fun! Come on, Bisky!” Alluka pulled the older woman along, Bisky showing no resistance. The two boys followed after them, Gon taking the lead so he could show them to his house.

Gon pointed out things about the island as they passed them with Killua stuffing his face with the chocolate the other had bought him. Alluka seemed pretty into the whole island, which was good if they were going to have to stay for a bit longer while he finished school. 

Upon arriving, Mito was outside hanging up laundry to dry. She saw Gon and Killua approach with the two women in tow and smiled politely.

“Hello, you two. Who are these ladies?” Mito asked. Bisky gave her a smile and bow.

“My name is Biscuit Krueger, but you can call me Bisky.” She introduced herself. “I’m Gon and Killua’s teacher.”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you! Thank you for teaching the boys! I’m sure they were a handful.” Mito laughed a bit, causing Gon and Killua to pout slightly. Alluka bounced up to Mito afterwards.

“I’m Alluka!” She introduced herself, holding onto Killua’s arm. “I’m Killua’s little sister! Thank you for taking care of him!”

“Oh, how lovely! Nice to meet you too, sweetie. Would you like some candy?” Mito offered the girl, kneeling down to her height. Alluka nodded quickly.

“Yeah, candy sounds nice, thank you!” She agreed. Mito laughed, standing up and holding out her hand for Alluka, leading them into the house. Killua watched his sister walk into the house holding Mito’s hand, already talking her ear off. 

“So, you two.” Bisky started, causing both of the boys to look at her. “What’s the plan now? Are you guys going to stay here?” 

“Well, I need to finish school, but after that, we’re going on an adventure again!” Gon proclaimed proudly. Bisky blinked, tilting her head.

“Didn’t you lose your nen?” She asked him. Gon faltered a bit at that.

“Well...yeah. But, Killua promised to protect me!” He followed up with. Bisky shook her head.

“Nonsense! He already has to protect Alluka!” She told him. Gon pouted a little bit, but then she smirked. “So, that being said, I’ll whip you back up into shape while I’m here. Even if you don’t regain your nen that fast, I’ll make sure you remember how to fight! You’re joining in on the training too, Killua. You have no choice.”

“Really?” Gon gasped before giving the lady a hug. She rolled her eyes with a smile on her face, giving him a pat on the head. When he released her, she gave them a smile.

“Alright, training starts now! Be prepared!” She said, pointing upwards. Killua was quick to react.

“Thirty-seven!” He shouted out. She gave him a thumbs-up.

“Correct! Killua wins.” She declared. Gon sputtered at both of them.

“Wha-Hey! That’s unfair! I can’t even see it!” Gon whined. Bisky crossed her arms.

“No complaining! Drop and give me five hundred push-ups!” She ordered.

“But-” He tried to argue, but she didn’t even let him get it out.

“You wanna make it a thousand?” She threatened. 

Gon promptly shut his mouth and dropped to the ground, beginning to furiously do push-ups. Killua laughed at the sight. They were definitely going to be alright. With Bisky training them, Gon would be even more prepared to leave.

He couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Leave comments and kudos, they make my day. Speaking of which, thank you for all of the kind comments I've gotten about good parts of the story and my well-being. I really do appreciate everyone who reads this story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm (unfortunately) not dead. I'm really sorry this chapter took so long. Life has been kicking my ass to make a long story short. Even so, it does not excuse taking so long to post this last chapter. I apologize for the overall quality of it too. I couldn't figure out how I wanted the end to play out, so it may seem rushed or awkward. I hope it's at least somewhat satisfactory.

“Gon Freecs, come to the principal’s office.”

Gon and Killua looked towards the intercom before looking at each other in confusion. The teacher didn’t think much of it and sent them off. They stood and left the room and Gon gave a slightly concerned frown to his boyfriend.

“What do you think they want?” He questioned. Killua hummed in thought before shrugging.

“I’m not sure. I mean, we haven’t done anything to get into trouble and it’s already the last day of school. What can they really do?” He pointed out. Gon gave a little nod as they headed down the hall.

“So, if that’s the case, what do you think they could want?” Gon asked again, scratching his head in thought. Killua shrugged yet again, but they were able to hear yelling as they approached the office.

This only raised a bit more alarm as they glanced at each other yet again before they reached the door. They both paused for a moment to try and make out the yelling before they entered the office, seeing if they could discern the reasoning.

“Come on, get them out here already! What’s the holdup? We’ve been here for the longest!” A familiar male voice angrily shouted.

“Would you calm down? I’m sorry, he’s a little worked up because we’ve been traveling for a bit.” Another familiar voice, sounding tired and exasperated with the other. Gon and Killua looked at each other with wide eyes of realization. They both then grinned before walking into the office. Both of their friends turned to see them come in.

“Gon!” Leorio dashed over and lifted the boy in a bear hug, earning a laugh from the boy as he was suddenly off the ground.

“Leorio! You guys are here!” Gon laughed happily, hugging his friend back. It felt like the hug they shared when Gon got up off of his deathbed after sacrificing his nen. 

“You both look well. Sorry for coming so late.” Kurapika walked up beside Killua, giving him a calm smile. Killua gave one in return.

“No worries. If anything, I’m sorry you had to travel with him for so long.” Killua gestured to Leorio. Kurapika’s face alone was enough to show how warranted that statement was. 

“I heard that, you little shit!” Leorio hissed at him, setting Gon down on the ground again. Killua only snickered and the principal looked appalled.

“Language, sir!” He chastised quickly. Leorio looked like he was going to bite back, but Kurapika gave him a look that quickly silenced anything he was about to say.

“I’m sorry about that. He’s quite immature.” He apologized. Leorio grumbled to himself and Gon and Killua couldn’t hold back their quiet laughter. “I believe school is about to be over soon, correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I had to call them from Gon’s last period. Any later and the students would’ve been flooding out for vacation.” The principal replied. 

“Oh, is that so? Looks like we made it just in time.” Kurapika replied with a hum.

“Indeed. Well, since it’s close to the end of the period anyway, you two are dismissed. I assume you’ll take them with you?” The principal looked at Leorio, clearly wanting to be rid of the disturbance the doctor was causing. 

“Thank you. We’ll be going now.” Kurapika gave a small bow to the main before gesturing for them to exit.

Gon and Killua led the way out of the office with Leorio and Kurapika following. Gon looked at the clock and realized he could get to his locker without the usual traffic they had to endure after the last period. Plus, students were going to be in a frenzy when the bell rang. 

“Come on, I need to go to my locker real quick!” Gon told them. He instinctively grabbed Killua by the hand and began dragging him down the hall in a dash for the stairs. 

“Whoa, Gon-!” Killua stumbled slightly from being caught off guard as he was pulled along. Kurapika smiled fondly at seeing their usual antics as he followed and Leorio only rolled his eyes with a chuckle. Soon enough, they reached the two boys, Gon was closing his locker after having gotten his bookbag, turning them around to walk out of the school. 

“So, the last day of school? How was it?” Kurapika asked, looking around the building. The school building wasn’t something he was quite used to. As they were leaving it, he examined it closer, realizing yet again how different things could look on his travels.

“Oh, school has been way better since Killua has been here!” Gon replied cheerily, grabbing said boy’s hand to hold it. Killua didn’t think much of it, subconsciously giving a gentle squeeze in response. Kurapika took notice of it, but decided he had a more important thing to address first.

“So, about these kids who were giving Gon some problems,” He started, eyes turning serious. “How is the situation being handled?”

“Oh, trust me,” Killua got that dark look in his eyes. “It’s already been resolved.”

“Ah, alright, I see.” Kurapika perfectly understood what that meant. Leorio looked in between them with a sigh.

“You two definitely scare me sometimes.” He muttered, their dark understanding of one another being slightly astounding. Kurapika turned his attention to the clasped hands of their younger friends and decided to mess with them a little.

“Is there something we missed?” Kurapika asked in a seemingly innocent tone, but Killua was able to tell he was teasing. 

“Oh, Killua and me together! It’s awesome, right?” Gon replied with a laugh. Despite it causing his face to heat up, Killua was admittedly pleased by how his boyfriend was happy to claim it now. 

“Yes, we already knew,” Kurapika confirmed with a nod. Gon looked a little caught off guard that his grand declaration wasn’t as grand as he thought it would be.

“You two already knew? How?” The boy looked in between his two friends. Leorio slowly smirked.

“Well, firstly, you two were pretty obvious. Secondly,” Leorio grinned evilly at Killua, who glared at him in response. “Killua here decided to-”

“Don’t you fucking dare, old man!” Killua hissed, malicious intent evident in his tone. Leorio wasn’t one to back down, though.

“Killua was nervous about taking you to the dance, so we had to give him a boost of confidence beforehand.” The man snickered. Killua blushed in embarrassment, baring his claws.

“Not cool, asshole!” He roared, ready to pounce and kill the doctor. Gon stopped walking, which caused Killua to stop short due to their clasped hands.

“ _ You _ were nervous about taking  _ me _ to the dance?” Gon questioned in disbelief. Killua only groaned and didn’t look at him.

“Don’t you start too!” Killua pleaded, only earning a wide grin from his boyfriend.

“That is so cute!” Gon laughed cheerily, planting a kiss on the other boy’s cheeks. It only made his pale face flush harder.

“You two really haven’t changed that much.” Kurapika laughed quietly. Killua glared at him. 

“I’ll go after you next when I’m done maiming the old man, Kurapika.” He threatened.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You deserved it.” Leorio shrugged. Killua gave a little nod as if to say, ‘I’ll remember that.’ before going back to walking with Gon.

As they were walking, they were nearing the center of town on their way back to the house. Killua was momentarily considering stopping in the candy store for some chocolate, but before he could even get that far in his thought process, a bag of it came flying at his face. He caught it before looking to the source.

“Still vigilant as ever I see.” Alluka giggled as they approached the group. Gon laughed and Killua rolled his eyes. 

“Obviously.” Killua deadpanned to his little sister. Kurapika blinked at seeing Alluka after hearing about what she did when Gon was on his deathbed.

“Long time no see, Alluka!” Leorio greeted her. Alluka smiled brightly.

“Hello again, Leorio! I hope you’re doing well in your studies to become a doctor!” She replied cheerily. Leorio almost shed a tear.

“If only your brother could be as pleasant as you.” He pretended to cry. Killua scoffed and gave him a middle finger with his free hand. 

“So, you’re Alluka? Nice to meet you, I’m Kurapika.” He extended his hand for her to shake, which she accepted.

“Nice to meet you too! Killua talks highly of you! Happy to meet you as well!” She responded with. Leorio narrowed his eyes.

“And what does he say about me?” He questioned. Alluka looked a little hesitant.

“All he does is call you an old man when he refers to you, sorry.” She answered. Leorio glared at Killua and the boy glared back.

“Anyway, Alluka, I thought you were going out with some of the girls you met today?” Gon asked her.

“Oh, it turns out they got chewed out by some teachers for some homework issues, so they had to stay after,” Alluka explained. Gon winced before he shivered at the thought.

“That was almost me.” He whispered, the fear evident in his voice.

“Just be glad you had me to help with homework.” Killua popped a piece of chocolate in his mouth. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Gon threw himself onto the other, peppering his face with kisses. Killua scrambled momentarily.

“H-Hey! You almost made me drop my chocolate, idiot!” He huffed, holding Gon at a distance as he finished off the piece in his hand. The rest of their party laughed in amusement.

Soon enough, they reached Gon’s home. Mito was outside, hanging up some laundry to dry. Gon called out to her, waving his hands.

“Mito! We’re back! And my friends are here!” He shouted. She looked over her shoulder before giving the group a friendly smile as they neared.

“Hello, you two. I’m Gon’s aunt, Mito Freecss.” She introduced herself once they were close enough, extending a hand to Leorio. “You must be Leorio!”

“That’s me! How’d you know?” Leorio asked, shaking her offered hand. She gave him a warm smile.

“You seem like the doctor type. Well, that, and I heard about how you punched Ging in the face.” She laughed softly. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. She turned to Kurapika next. “And you must be Kurapika! You certainly give off a refined aura.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Kurapika said politely, shaking her hand. “You’ve raised a fine child. Gon’s really been there for me. Even when I was being more than difficult.” He complimented. Gon grinned and gave him a playful elbow.

“Thank you, that means a lot.” Mito hummed with a smile. Alluka ran into Mito giving her a hug, which would’ve nearly knocked her over if she didn’t raise Gon. “Hello to you too, Alluka.” She laughed, hugging the girl back. Alluka giggled before releasing the older woman.

“Mito, we should have a party! To celebrate Leorio and Kurapika arriving!” He suggested. Said two were about to protest and say that it wasn’t necessary, but Mito clasped her hands with a smile.

“That sounds like a great idea, Gon!” She agreed, ushering them all inside. “Come, come! I’ll make us some food and treats!”

Before they knew it, they were crowded in the living room as Gon helped his aunt in the kitchen. Killua and Alluka flopped onto the couch and Leorio and Kurapika took a more careful approach to sit down.

“So, I see you managed to help him like I told you to. I was going to kick your ass if you kept being difficult.” Leorio watched Gon hurriedly move about the kitchen to get stuff ready.

“Whatever, old man. I didn’t need you telling me to do it anyway.” Killua retorted.

“Yeah!” Alluka piped in. He was about to thank his little sister for having his back before she donned a mischievous smirk. “He needed me to tell him too!”

“Wow, the betrayal. How could you? After everything we’ve been through together.” Killua clutched his chest to add on to his dramatics. Alluka cackled and put her hands on her hips.

“It had to be done. I’m sorry, brother.” She declared. They both stared at each other before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Kurapika chuckled and shook his head.

“You two are certainly a pair of siblings if I’ve ever seen one.” He remarked before donning a slightly more serious expression. “So, what are you planning to do after Gon passes?”

“Well, that’s the best thing. We don’t know.” Killua hummed. Upon seeing the confused expressions of his friends, he decided to clarify. “We’re going on an adventure, right? What’s the fun in adventuring if you plan it all out? We’re going to go have fun and see things we didn’t get to see before.”

“Ah, that makes sense! Damn, I’m kinda jealous since I have to go back and do more medical homework soon.” Leorio grumbled. Kurapika nodded in agreement with Killua.

“I suppose that’s true. I’m sure you three will have a great time. I find that seeing new things during my travels isn’t entirely bad even if it’s not my main focus.” He stated. 

“Right? We’ve been training with Bisky, so we’re all good to go. She’s even given Alluka some pointers.” Killua informed them. “Oh, she’s our sensei by the way. She’s the one who taught us about nen about Wing, who helped us learn the basics at Heaven’s Arena. She didn’t stay long, but she’s fairly effective when she wants to be.” He shuddered from the hellish training he had to do despite already being good with his nen.

“Well, as long as you three stay safe, that’s a great idea,” Leorio commented. Killua nodded with a small smirk.

“Of course it is, old man. I was the one who suggested it. I didn’t need you to tell me.” Killua shot at him. Leorio launched himself out of his chair and lunged at Killua, who flipped off the couch and over his head to land on the ground behind him.

The two moved about the living room with Leorio trying to grab Killua and strangle him whilst said boy easily avoided being grazed. Gon entered to let them know they could eat, taking a moment to laugh and consider joining the chaos. Alluka was pretty amused and Kurapika only sighed and facepalmed. Eventually, they ceased their activity after Leorio gave up and vowed to get him later.

When they entered the kitchen, they were hit with the mouth-watering aroma of delicious food. Killua and Alluka, knowing how Mito’s cooking tasted, were over the moon. Kurapika and Leorio looked fairly impressed as well.

“I know my way around a kitchen. Did you think any normal person could keep up with Gon’s appetite?” She joked, gesturing for them all to sit down. 

“I suppose you’re right about that.” Kurapika chuckled, taking a seat when he was prompted to with the others following suit.

“Well, here’s to Gon finishing school and the safe arrival of Leorio and Kurapika! Everyone, dig in!” Mito proclaimed, earning some cheers from the kids before they (mainly Gon and Killua) began inhaling the food. Kurapika and Leorio began doing the same.

Mito looked around at all of the lively activity happening in her dining room. It only felt like such a short while ago that she might never see this again. She could never thank Killua enough for saving her boy from himself. Happy tears welled up in her eyes, but she wiped them away before any of the kids took notice of them. She was a bit worried about what might come in the future for the boy she loved so much, but she knew he would have support from Killua and the rest of his friends. Things would be okay. She knew it.

* * *

“Hey, Killua?” Gon’s sleepy voice came from Killua’s side as they lounged in his bedroom, causing him to glance down at the other.

“Hm?” He prompted the other to continue. Gon paused for a moment before doing so.

“Now that school’s over, we should leave for our adventure soon.” He said suddenly, effectively catching Killua off guard. 

“So early? You don’t want to stay longer?” He questioned, a little concerned the other was forcing himself. With the way Gon looked at him back at him, he knew having that thought was just really stupid.

“I’m ready. I’ve been idle for too long and I want to get out there again! I may not be able to use my nen too well yet, but I know how to fight! Plus, you’ll be there to protect me!” He responded with. Killua would never understand how Gon managed to say such embarrassing things without batting an eye.

“Fine, fine. We’ll go as soon as you want. I’ll even get us a starting point.” Killua pulled out his phone, chuckling at the way Gon suddenly lost all of his tiredness to look for a start to their adventure.

They stayed up late into the night discussing plans and when they were going to leave. Alluka even joined them for a bit before going to bed because she had been bored doing nothing in the room she got. By the end of it, both boys felt the excitement buzzing in their systems, eager to get a move on. 

“Hey, let’s go to the roof!” Gon told his boyfriend, hopping off the bed. Killua raised an eyebrow in a slight question, but got up regardless. 

When they both climbed their way to the roof with relative ease, Killua could understand why Gon suggested it. They had a perfect view of all of the stars in the sky and Killua was instantly mesmerized. Gon grinned at his boyfriend’s reaction, flopping on his back gently to not wake anyone inside, Killua doing the same a moment later.

“This’ll be great. We’re going to have so much fun, see so many things, and...we’ll be together this time.” Gon whispered. Killua’s chest swelled with affection at his tone and he reached for Gon’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Gon gasped slightly, evidently feeling the same way as he squeezed back.

Gon began rambling on and on about everything they’d get to experience together, not being burdened about any bad blood or worry about anything school-related. The light was finally back in his eyes as he excitedly flipped from topic to topic and Killua could do nothing but listen fondly. He never thought another person besides his sister could mean so much to him, but he couldn’t imagine living without him now. His eagerness grew exponentially when he thought about what was to come.

This was going to be their greatest adventure yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of this fic. Thanks for anyone who made it this far and put up with my shoddy uploading schedule. This was my first multi-chapter fic in a while and I'm happy it was as well-received as it was. Thank you to everyone who left a comment whether it was a critical one or a praising one. I tried my best and I hope it came out alright in the end. Thanks for reading.


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